Cinnamon Bacon Swirl Cake Recipe

Cinnamon bacon swirl cake recipe, made with lard, bacon fat, butter and cream cheese, not for the faint of heart. Serve with candied bacon for good measure.

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A note on FAT

This recipe is really focused on the fat. A cake is just a cake until you make it special and what makes this one special is the fat. You’ve probably heard at least once the saying “fat is flavour” and its true. This cake does not lack in flavour. The recipe combines 3 different fats. You could ignore all of this and make the entire thing with butter and it will be delicious, but not as special.

Lard and Bacon

The lard and the bacon fat bring in texture and smoke, the butter adds its own flavor. The 3 together make it beautiful. I suggest using a nice thick double smoked bacon from a good source for the best flavor. I baked 4 strips of thick butcher shop bacon to get the 1/4 cup of fat for this recipe. This is the same bacon I will use to make the candied bacon for the top. For those local to Victoria I use Haus Sausage for stellar bacon and costumer service.

Cinnamon Bacon Swirl Cake

When making any swirl cake the key is creating two separate components. Then swirling them together in the pan or pans. The larger the pan, the easier it is to make an even swirl. It is entirely possible however, to use this recipe in single serving sizes such as cupcakes. The baking time will change dependent on the pans you are using. Baking it all together in a single cake pan such as a spring pan will take the longest of up to 50 minutes. If the sides start to darken too quickly reduce the temperature to 325° F. Continue to bake until a fork comes out clean.

Decorating

This cake stands alone beautifully but is set off really nicely with a simple cream cheese icing ( recipe below). I use the same icing often and, since its my favorite, you’ll see it pop up over and over again in my recipes. Especially on any kind of sweet roll like these ones Here. The cake can be iced more traditionally but I like to keep up the rustic look. Add just enough cream to the icing that it drips slightly, a little runnier than what you would usually use for a cake. Using an icing bag with a large round opening, (using no tip and just the bag or the coupler works well) and ice around the entire edge. Keep it close to the edge and let it drip over the side, then fill in the center and cover the whole top.

For a layered cake separate your icing into two bowls prior to adding the cream. The icing for the center should be thicker and spreadable to keep everything held together nicely.

Candied Bacon and Gingerbread mushrooms

There’s really no making a cake with bacon in the title if you don’t add bacon to the top, its just not right. I’ve done this a few different ways now depending on the occasion and who its being made for but its always some variation of candied bacon. In this case I cut the bacon into strips and baked them with a sprinkle of brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon on top. When they where fresh from the oven I sacrificed my finger tips to wrap the hot bacon around a wooden spoon. I let it cool that way to get a bit of spiral to it.

The mushrooms are made from gingerbread attached together with chocolate and decorated with glace and sprinkles. They need some more work in the future but they sure do add an extra layer of magic to the cake overall.

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