CHOCOLATE BACON CUPCAKE WITH WALNUT CARAMEL SAUCE

I have been seeing this salty and sweet cupcake/cake combination on food TV shows and around the food "blogsphere". Bacon with sugar is not new to me though, a member of my in laws used to dip her bacon with sugar which i thought was weird at that time, i just couldn't imagine the taste.

Okay, okay i succomb to the temptation and made these cupcakes. It is surprisingly good. So, i brought some to work and didn't tell my co-workers that it had bacon, until they finished all the cupcakes.  They loved it, they wouldn't have thought that the hint of the saltiness was the bacon w/c worked well with the chocolate and the caramel.  I probably should have added more bacon to make the bacon distinct? nah...i don't think i will like it if i added more bacon bits.

The recipe for the chocolate cupcake was adapted from the book "Best Loved Hershey's Sweet and Sensational"- Chocolate Squares with Nutty Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:
Y: 16 cupcakes
1 C sugar
3/4 C all purpose flour
1/2 C hersheys cocoa powder
1 /2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 C oil
3 eggs
1/4 C milk
1/2 t vanilla extract
12 pcs caramel candies
1/2 C milk (for caramel sauce)
1 C roasted walnuts or pecans
6 slices of bacon ( about 1 C bacon bits)
brown sugar for the bacon

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange bacon slices on a sheet pan, sprinkle brown sugar and bake until crispy.

Set aside and let it cool.

Roast walnuts or pecans in the oven for 10 minutes. Cool then chop finely. Set aside.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in mixer.

Add oil, eggs, milk and vanilla; beat until smooth.

Pour batter evenly into the cupcake liners.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely.

Remove wrappers from caramels. Combine caramels and milk in small saucepan.

Cook over low heat stirring occasionally until smooth and well blended.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of the cupcake then drizzle with caramel sauce.