The Sims 4: The Baconing

I keep playing the Sims 4 and can’t get enough of it. I really need to focus on one family and get them living in a big house. Every time I get a family decently far I’ll start thinking of a new group to try out and see what hilarities will ensue. I did attempt a legacy challenge and got my second generation heir, but I got distracted like usual and started doing other things. Maybe I should go back to the legacy challenge and see if I can make a 10 generation family. With the amount I’ve been playing this game, I am always looking at the food my Sims are making and wanting to recreate these treats.

This week we take a look at what I consider one of the more unique items in the game, The Baconing. The moment I noticed there was a bacon cupcake in the game I started formulating how I would recreate it. A few people thought I was crazy for combining bacon with a cupcake. Little did they know just how well bacon goes with sweets. Let’s be honest, bacon goes with just about anything! This recipe does require a good amount of time to make and is pretty active. The first time I made it, it probably took about three hours. There are four major components: candied bacon, cupcake, filling and frosting. Time to break down this recipe!

Required Equipment: cupcake baking pan, baking sheet, aluminum foil, parchment paper, bowls, mixers (stand or hand), spoons, brush
Ingredients:
Candied Bacon:
– 10-12 pieces of bacon
– brown sugar

Maple Cupcake:
– ¾ cup butter
– ¾ cup sugar
– 1 ½ cups maple syrup
– ¾ tsp vanilla extract
– 3 eggs
– 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
– 3 cups flour
– 3 tsp baking powder
– ¾ tsp salt
– ¾ cup milk

Filling:
– 4 oz cream cheese
– 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
– 2 ½ pieces candied bacon, chopped

Maple Frosting:
– 12 oz cream cheese
– ½ cup butter
– ¼ cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup
– 1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar

– additional maple syrup

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prep your baking sheets by wrapping them in aluminum foil and placing a layer of parchment paper on top. This step is very important and will make sure your bacon doesn’t stick to the pan. In a bowl, place the brown sugar and get your bacon ready.

Take each piece of bacon and thoroughly cover it with brown sugar. Place the sugared bacon on the baking sheet.

Place the bacon in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Take the bacon out and flip each piece over. Return it to the oven and bake for 6-10 minutes or until the bacon appears crispy.

As the bacon is cooking you can take this time to start making the cupcakes. In a bowl combine the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract.

Add each egg one at a time to the butter/maple syrup mixture. In a separate bowl combine the cinnamon, flour, baking powder and salt.

Pour half of the flour mixture into the butter/maple syrup mixture and blend until combine. Add the milk. Finally add the last portion of the flour.

Fill the cupcake wrappers about ¾ full. Place in the oven (same temperature as before) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cupcakes pass the toothpick test. After they pass, place them on a cooling rack and let them cool.

While those are baking, begin your work on the filling. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth. Take the chopped candied bacon and fold it in.

To fill each of the cupcakes, we are to cut a small cone out of the top center of the cupcake.

Add a small amount of the filling into the cupcake. Cut the bottom of the little cone you took out and cover the filling. When you frost the cupcake it will hide the incision you made.

Now in typical fashion I have once again forgotten to take pictures of me making the frosting. I don’t know what it is with cupcake recipes but I keep forgetting. In a bowl combine the cream cheese and butter.

While the butter and cream cheese are getting friendly, slowly add the maple syrup. Finally add the confectioner’s sugar in ½ cup batches. If you want your frosting to be a bit sweeter, go ahead and add an extra ½ cup of confectioner’s sugar.

Pour some maple syrup into a small bowl. Brush the tops of each of the cupcake with some maple syrup and then cover with frosting. Take your candied bacon (cut them in half or in thirds) and place it on top.