Maple Bacon Cinnamon Roll Cake

Remember a few years back when we started putting bacon on and in all of our desserts?  I think it came just after the Red Velvet and giant cupcake phase.  We needed a salty kick in the pants. See: Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies.

I think we’ve moved past the bacon-on-all-our-desserts trend,  but does that make it any less delicious?  Hardly.

We’re making a breakfast cake inspired by, but much more simple than a cinnamon roll.  Yellow cake with a cinnamon swirl, schmears of cream cheese frosting, crisp bacon bits and a drizzle of maple syrup. You’ve got the coffee going, right?  This is about to get good.

We’ll start by making a single layer yellow cake.

This base cake is a very fine place to start a cake adventure: Everybody’s Birthday Cake.

Softened butter and granulated sugar are beaten together until light and fluffy, aerating the fat and sweetener to help bring lift to the cake.

Eggs are added, one at a time and beaten well to incorporate.

See that bacon waiting there?  Biding its time like a boss.

Remember all that time I spent trying to figure out if we really had to sift our flour and dry ingredients.

The answer is naaaah, not really… a whisk and a bowl will do the trick.  If your bowl already has butter, sugar and egg in it, a fine mesh strainer step over the butter mixture will do all fine and good.

Add the flour.

Add the leavening, a dash of cinnamon, a good pinch of salt.

And shimmy shake of the strainer to help the dry ingredients rain down into the buttery mixture.

Buttermilk is added and the cake batter is brought together with a spatula.  It’s more gently on the dough and you can make sure you fully incorporate all the dry patches.

Thick cake batter, but totally spoonable + spreadable.

Oh! Maybe we were a little lazy in sifting the dry ingredients.  That’s because we spent all of our attention to detail in greasing the pan properly, cutting a parchment paper base liner, and re-greasing that to ensure that the cakes separates from the pan without a hitch.

There’s more good news:  Sweet + Buttery Cinnamon Syrup!

Stirred together and drizzled over the buttermilk cake batter.

Really get it all on there!  No need to be shy.

Next, use a butter knife to flip and swirl the batter over the syrup, incorporating it but leaving big flavorful streaks.

Into the oven it goes!

Ok… a few more things.

What’s a cinnamon roll without Cream Cheese Frosting? Still a cinnamon roll, just not nearly as fantastic.

Cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, pinch of salt, and vanilla extract.  Easy but you already know it!

The cake is cooked to soft and golden, cooled because only cooled cakes get to be frosted, then spread with cream cheese frosting.

Finally, because we’re dessert maniacs who still crave a bit of salt, we’ll add crumbled bacon.  I mean… this is breakfast afterall.

And one final drizzle of maple syrup.

Ultimate breakfast cake oh heeeey!

Maple Bacon Cinnamon Roll Cake

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• Author: Joy the Baker
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 28
• Total Time: 48 minutes

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Ingredients

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For the Cake

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

For the Cinnamon Syrup

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1?4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• splash of pure vanilla extract
• 3 slices crisp cooked bacon, crumbled
• 2 or 3 tablespoons maple syrup

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Instructions

1. To make the cake, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper, grease and flour. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (you can also use a large bowl and electric hand beaters) cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Stop the mixer and and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.
4. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients all at once to the butter and egg mixture and beat on low until just combined. Add the buttermilk and beat on low for 1 minute. Use a spatula to ensure that all of the ingredients are well combined and no dry pockets are hidden at the bottom of the bowl.
5. To make the cinnamon syrup, stir together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until glossy and well combined.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan. Pour cinnamon syrup over the cake batter and use a butter knife to swirl into the cake, leaving large streaks in and on top of the cake.
7. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until cooked through and the top springs back lightly when touch. Test the cake by inserted a skewer into the center of the cake. Cake is done when just a few crumbs are left on the skewer.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan completely. Invert onto a wire rack or serving plate.
9. To make cream cheese frosting, beat together softened butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth.
10. Frost with cream cheese frosting, sprinkle with bacon and drizzle with maple syrup.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 8