3907. BLUEBERRY BACON BREAKFAST CAKE

makes a 9×13 dish


6 slices thick-cut bacon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons bacon fat, cooled
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 ounces fresh blueberries (frozen work too – just thaw and pay completely dry)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add bacon. Fry until completely crisp and fat is rendered. Remove bacon and place on a paper towel to drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk butter and bacon fat with sugar until combined. Whisk in eggs until completely smooth, then whisk in vanilla extract. Slowly add dry ingredients, mixing with a large spoon. Add in milk and stir until combined. Toss blueberries with 1-2 tablespoons of flour. Fold in bacon and blueberries, then pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake for 30-33 minutes, or until golden on the sides and top. Remove cake and poke holes on top with a toothpick. Pour glaze over top, reserving a bit extra for topping if desired.

Cream Cheese Glaze
1/2 cup whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons milk
Add softened cream cheese to a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add in milk and vanilla, mixing until combined, then begin to stir in powdered sugar. If mixture is too thick, add additional milk 1 teaspoon at a time. If it is too thin, add in powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.


bacon recipe source: Jessica Merchant, How Sweet It Is (@HowSweetBlog), April 17, 2012

3786. SWEET FRENCH TOAST with BACON

Serves 2

4 slices premium center-cut or thick-cut bacon

2/3 cup milk

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

4 slices hearty whole-grain bread

Butter for frying

Berries (strawberries or blueberries are good) or apple slices (optional)

2 Tbsp real maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Put the bacon in the oven; bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until crispy. Remove from oven and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

While bacon is cooking, combine milk, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a pie plate or shallow bowl; whisk until well blended.

Dip 2 bread slices into egg mixture and let stand 30 seconds to absorb the liquid. Flip bread over and let stand in mixture another 30 seconds.

Heat the butter in a nonstick frying pan over medium heat until melted (but be careful not to burn it). Add 2 dipped bread slices and cook for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Flip over and continue cooking for 1 minute or until done. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with remaining 2 bread slices.

On each plate, place 2 strips of bacon and 2 slices of French toast. Garnish with berries or apple slices, if you'd like, and serve with syrup.

bacon recipe source: philippagraham51 (member), BBC Good Food

3307. WHOLE WHEAT and CHIA SEED WAFFLES with FRESH BERRIES and BACON

1.5 cups of whole wheat flour
1/3 cup chia seeds
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk

1/3 cup melted butter

2 eggs

To serve
bacon
fresh berries

Place the wheat, chia seeds, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, milk and melted butter. Gradually whisk in to dry ingredients. Set batter aside and allow to rest for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Heat a waffle iron or skillet and brush with butter or non-stick spray. Ladle about 1/4 cup of the mixture into the pan and spread almost to the edges. Cook until bubbles form on the top, then flip and cook until golden on both sides.

In a separate pan, cook bacon until crisp.

To serve, pile bacon on top of waffles, sprinkle with berries and drizzle with honey or maple syrup.


bacon recipe source: Maxine Thompson, The Bookery Cook, November 2, 2012

2777. BLACKBERRY APPLE COBBLER with BACON-SAGE CRUST

yields twelve servings


2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, stems removed
8 apples peeled, cored, cut into wedges
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
freshly grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
scant 1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 egg 
1/3 cup milk
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled into 1/2″ pieces
2 fresh sage leaves, chopped very finely, or 1/4 teaspoon ground dried sage

Preheat oven to 425. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and set aside. Combine berries, apples, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and 1 tablespoon of the sugar.  Work in the butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips. Lightly beat the egg and milk together, and slowly but firmly (you don’t want too many strokes) stir into the flour mixture. Stir in the chopped bacon and sage. Knead lightly, sprinkling on a bit more flour as necessary to form a smooth dough. Break off portions of the dough and place them on top of the fruit in the pan, pressing and spreading the dough as you go. Cover the entire surface. Sprinkle remaining sugar over the dough and bake until well browned, 35-45 minutes. Serve immediately, with ice cream of course.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Cheryl Herrick, CrankyCakes, September 12, 2009 | adapted from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins

2637. BACON-BLUEBERRY CORNBREAD with BLACKBERRY BUTTER

yields ten servings


Blackberry Butter 
1 package (6 ounces or 1 1/3 cup) blackberries

½ cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, well softened

Blueberry-Bacon Cornbread 
3 slices center-cut, reduced-sodium bacon

1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground

¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoons salt

1 package (6 ounces or 1 ¼ cup) blueberries

2/3 cups 1% low-fat milk

1 large egg

2 tablespoons canola oil

Blackberry Butter: Place a ceramic saucer in the freezer to chill. Combine berries, sugar and lemon juice in small nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring gently to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally until juices create large thick bubbles, about 10 minutes. Spoon 1 teaspoon juices onto chilled saucer; if juices thicken to jam-like consistency after 15 seconds, jam is ready. If not, cook another minute or so. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely. Knead butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula until smooth. Gradually mix in berry jam. Butter can be made up to 3 days ahead; keep covered and refrigerated. Serve at room temperature.

Bacon-Blueberry Cornbread: Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook bacon in 9-inch ovenproof skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium heat until browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain; cool, and coarsely chop. Discard fat from skillet; do not clean skillet, leaving a thin film of fat inside. Whisk cornmeal, ¾ cup of the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Toss blueberries and bacon with remaining tablespoon flour; set aside. Whisk milk, egg and oil in a small bowl. Add to cornmeal mixture and stir with a wooden spoon just until combined. Fold in blueberries and bacon. Spread batter in the bacon fat coated skillet. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve from skillet with blackberry butter. 


bacon recipe courtesy of: Driscoll's Berries, PO Box 50045, Watsonville, California 95077-5045

1709. BANANA and BACON STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

serves six


1 lb. bacon, cooked until crisp
1(500 grams) loaf of brioche (substitute egg bread)
3-4 bananas, sliced lengthwise (each banana should yield 4 slices)
1 pkg. of mascarpone (substitute cream cheese)
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teapoon orange zest
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
6 tablespoons butter
fresh maple syrup, warm
1 pint of fresh berries for garnish
powdered sugar for dusting

Slice brioche into 6 slices approximately 1" wide. Cut each slice almost all the way in half leaving a "hinged" edge. Spread a thin layer of mascarpone cheese on the inside of one side of each slice. Place two banana slices atop the mascarpone and finally, add two slices of the cooked bacon. Press together. In a large bowl add eggs, milk, cream, cinnamon, vanilla, orange zest, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Working in batches in a large skillet or on a griddle, melt the butter. Dip each stuffed bread into the egg mixture, being careful not to allow the bacon and bananas to fall out. Grill on each side until golden brown.

Pour warm maple syrup on a large plate and place one piece of stuffed bread on the syrup. Sprinkle fresh berries on top of the bread and dust the entire plate with powdered sugar.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Paula Deen, Paula's Kitchen, Smithfield