Servings: 6 Prep: 20 mins Cook: 20 mins Total: 45 mins
A few years ago, I went to Portland, Oregon and attended an Organic Farming conference with some friends. I was living in Seattle at the time and was able to pop down for the weekend.
As much as I love a good doughnut, I consider them to epitomize junk food. I also feel that most doughnuts are relatively generic and lifeless commercial products. However, there are some companies out there that are really pushing what can be done with a doughnut. They’re injecting some genuine love into their fried dough rings, balls and bars. One famous example is the Cronut, from New York. Another is Voodoo Doughnuts, in Portland, Oregon.
I’d heard about Voodoo for years but had never been. After a weekend of Portland’s organic restaurants and foods, I parted ways from my friends, hopped in my car and headed back up to Seattle. Somehow, on the way back up North, my car took over and started driving itself. After a few minutes, it pulled up into a dark alley behind Voodoo Doughnuts. I was just as suprised as you, Dear Reader!
“Why not?”, I thought. “I’m here. I’ve never tried it. Let’s see what all the fuss is about!”
I walked inside this slightly dingy colorful bakery which was BLASTING the Super Mario theme song, over and over, again. I thought it was a ton of fun, but I can’t imagine working there. I would go looney in just a day!
I walked up to the counter and ordered the only obvious choice: A Maple Bacon Bar.
It was a standard (high quality, mind you) Maple Bar, but it had 2 large, super crispy, thick-cut strips of bacon, running along the top. *crunch*
These little mini-Maple Bacon Bars were actually really surprising. I mean, I knew they’d be tasty, but I really wasn’t prepared for how wonderful they really were! They were sweet and the maple flavor rang through, clear and loud. However, it was the slightly salty Maple Mascarpone that really tied it all together. Combined with the smoky, crunchy bacon bits adorning the top? Bliss.
Just … bliss.
Mini Maple Bacon Bars
Print RateIngredients
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1 1/2 scoop (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) sugar-free vanilla whey protein
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp 'Swerve' or other sugar replacement
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt divided
- 6 large whole fresh eggs
- 1/2 lb mascarpone cheese (room temperature) divided
- 1/2 cup sugar free maple syrup divided
- 1/2 cup really crunchy bacon bits
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F (177° C).
- In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, protein powder, coconut flour, sugar replacement, baking powder and a healthy dash of salt. With a whisk or a fork, combine the dry ingredients so they are evenly mixed and distributed in and amongst one another.
- In a separate smaller bowl, combine eggs, 1/2 cup (120 mL) of the mascarpone cheese, and 1/4 cup (60 mL) of maple syrup. Whisk until consistent and lemony in color.
- Pour the egg mixture into the dry and whisk together.
- The batter should be like pancake batter. These ingredients tend to be a bit inconsistent from brand to brand and grind to grind. You may need to add a little liquid (water or almond milk) to thin it out (just not too much!)
- Divide your batter into a greased mini-loaf pan. I have a variety of molds and use three small silicone mini-loaf pans, each holding 6 little loaves.
- Note: It is at this point that you can pour your batter into virtually any manner of mold. Just remember that there is no gluten in this batter, so it can very much collapse under its own weight. Try not to make anything over about 2-inches (5 cm) in height. If you do opt to go for something a little taller and grander, don’t forget you can add things like xanthan gum, chia and tapioca flour. A bit of each will give you a slightly lighter, more cakier and slightly more structurally sound goodies.
- Bake for about 13 to 18 minutes, or until the micro-loaves have crowned, the surface is dry and beginning to turn golden.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.
- While the loafs rest and cool, whip together the remaining mascarpone cheese and maple syrup. Add a dash of salt. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, but it’ll still be fairly loose. If you want to thicken it, you can whisk it like whipped cream. As you while in air, it’ll continue to thicken. Once it’s at the desired consistency, set aside.
- Once the tiny bars are cool, spoon or use a pastry bag and pipe your sweet mascarpone along the top of your treats. Liberally sprinkle your crunchiest bacon bits on top.
- Call everyone you know and enjoy!
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