Bacon Beer Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners.

Cook bacon strips in a very large frying pan until golden brown and crispy, flipping once. One cooked, pour the fat through a fine sieve into a large bowl. You want the fat to be spread out quite thin so that it firms up quickly. Additionally, pouring it through a sieve ensures you won’t get any burnt bits. Place the bowl of fat in the refrigerator to firm up.

In a large bowl, stir almond flour, cocoa power, coconut flour, baking powder and salt until well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat coconut sugar and butter until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add honey, eggs and stout extract and beat again until well combined.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until well mixed. Finally, crumble up 4 of the cooked bacon slices and mix in.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin tins. It will be very thick, and you’ll really have to spread it into the muffin pan; this is normal. Once filled, let the muffin pan stand for 5 minutes so the coconut flour can absorb some of the moisture.

Bake until cupcakes rise and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 14–15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:
Beat butter and chilled bacon fat until smooth and combined. Add honey and stout extract, and beat again until well mixed. Place back into the refrigerator until nice and firm, about 30 minutes or so.

Once firm, add almond milk and beat until combined and fluffy. This will take a good 2–3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. You want all the milk mixed into the butter.

Pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes. Crumble up the remaining bacon and sprinkle it over each cupcake. Devour.

Notes:
1. As with all gluten free baking, it’s very important to weigh your flour to ensure good results.
2. The frosting is very rich, so you don’t need very much. Just put a little on top so you don’t run out before you finish all the frosting!