Beloved breakfast meat, bacon, is now a dessert

Bacon has become the salty yin to the sweet yang of cupcakes, ice creams, bread puddings and chocolate pastries - and it's showing up everywhere from haute cuisine menus to state fair fare around the world.

Time magazine devoted ink to the trend this year, and an episode of the Food Network show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" still in rotation features foodies' favorite bacon desserts.

Home cooks are whipping up bacon-sweets, too, if food magazines and a recent crop of cookbooks - featuring recipes like maple-bacon milkshakes and sweet-potato bacon fritters - are any indication.

"Bacon dessert is not surprising from a flavor standpoint," said Maile Carpenter, editor in chief of Food Network Magazine. It's that sweet-salty taste-bud tango we love - think honey-roasted nuts, chocolate-covered pretzels and sea-salted caramels..

CANDIED BACON

Makes about 12 pieces

One 8- to 12-ounce package sliced bacon

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

Vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Separate the bacon strips and blot them dry with paper towels. Spread the brown sugar in a wide flat dish. Coat both sides of the bacon with the sugar, firmly pressing the sugar onto each strip.

Lay the bacon strips on a large foil-lined baking sheet. (Some of the sugar will fall off, but that's OK.) Cook the bacon in the oven, turning once, until it is browned and lacquered, 15-20 minutes.

Transfer the bacon strips to a lightly oiled baking sheet to cool. Break in half or into thirds to serve.

Nutritional analysis per piece: 177 calories, 9 grams fat, 18 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, 16 milligrams cholesterol, 309 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber, 47 percent of calories from fat.

From "Canal House Cooking, Vol. 1" (Canal House, $19.95)

MAPLE BACON ICE CREAM

Chef David Uygur created this ice cream for the menu of Lola The Restaurant in Dallas.

For a seasonal treat, he suggests serving it with fresh peaches instead of the apples.

Makes approximately 2 to 2 1/2 quarts

1 cup maple syrup

1/2 pound uncooked bacon

8 egg yolks

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

In saucepan over medium heat, reduce maple syrup to 3/4 cup. In another saucepan, render the bacon until it is very crisp.

Drain the fat and dry the bacon very well with several paper towels. Transfer the cooked bacon to a cutting board and chop the bacon into very small pieces. Set aside.

In a bowl, whip the egg yolks with the sugar and maple syrup until the mix is light in color.

Blot the pot you cooked the bacon in with paper towels, then add the cream and milk. Heat over medium heat until hot to the touch but not boiling.

Ladle 1 cup of the hot cream and milk mixture into the egg mix and stir thoroughly to combine. Pour the egg mix into the rest of the hot cream mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture coats the back of the spoon.

Strain the mixture into a bowl set on top of another bowl that is filled with ice. This will chill the mixture quickly and ensure that it will not overcook. Once the mixture is quite cold, freeze it in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once the ice cream is frozen, fold in bacon bits and freeze overnight. Serve with a hot waffle, caramelized apples and cider syrup.

Per 1/2-cup serving, based on 2 quarts: 395 calories, 31 grams fat, 23 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams protein, 190 milligrams cholesterol, 238 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber, 70 percent of calories from fat.

From Chef David Uygur, www.lola4dinner.com

MAPLE FRENCH TOAST AND BACON CUPCAKES

This breakfast-inspired cupcake recipe, created by Kara Scow of McKinney, was the winner of the "Food Network Magazine" June/July reader recipe contest.

Makes 12 cupcakes

FOR THE CUPCAKES:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

1 (3.9-ounce) box instant vanilla pudding mix

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon potato starch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup half-and-half, at room temperature

1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon (5 strips)

FOR THE FROSTING:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 strips bacon, cooked and chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Prepare the cupcakes: Combine the flours, pudding mix, baking powder, potato starch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt with a whisk.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars with a mixer on low speed until combined, 6 to 8 minutes. Gradually mix in the vanilla and egg whites. Scrape down the sides of the bowl; continue mixing until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the maple syrup and half-and-half, mixing after each addition and ending with flour. Mix until the ingredients are just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the bacon.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about three-quarters of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon; beat until combined. Spread on the cooled cupcakes; top with chopped bacon, if desired.

Per cupcake: 491 calories, 19 grams fat, 76 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, 53 milligrams cholesterol, 359 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber, 34 percent of calories from fat.

From "Food Network Magazine"

BACON BAKLAVA

Makes 24 pieces

1 large orange

1 pound bacon, cooked until very crisp

2 cups slivered almonds, lightly toasted

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 pound phyllo pastry sheets

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

8 allspice berries, crushed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Finely grate the zest from the orange and juice the orange; set the juice aside. Combine the orange zest, bacon, almonds, brown sugar and allspice in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Set aside.

Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with a little of the melted butter. Using half of the phyllo sheets, brush each sheet with melted butter, fold it in half, and place it in the prepared pan, trimming it to fit, if necessary. Stack the buttered sheets on top of one another.

Spread the bacon mixture evenly over the layered phyllo pastry, and then, using the remaining phyllo sheets, brush each sheet with butter, fold, and stack on top of the filling. Brush the top sheet with melted butter.

Using a sharp knife, score the top layer of pastry into 24 squares.

Bake the baklava until the pastry is golden brown and shrinks from the edges of the pan, about 45 minutes.

While the baklava is baking, prepare the syrup. Add enough water to the orange juice to make 1 1/2 cups. Pour the juice into a saucepan and add the granulated sugar and allspice berries. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Transfer the pan with the baked baklava to a wire rack. Strain the syrup and pour it evenly over the warm baklava. Leave at room temperature until completely cool. Cut the baklava into squares to serve. The baklava keeps for 4 to 5 days at room temperature.

Per piece: 333 calories, 21 grams fat, 28 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams protein, 26 milligrams cholesterol, 396 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber, 55 percent of calories from fat.

From "Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient," by Jennifer McLagan (Ten Speed Press, $32.50)

MAPLE BACON SHAKE

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

2 slices bacon (about 2 ounces), cut into thin strips

6 tablespoons cold whole or low-fat milk (about 3 ounces)

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, preferably grade B (about 1 ounce)

Pinch of salt

8 medium scoops French vanilla ice cream (about 1 quart), softened until just melty at the edges.

Fry the bacon in a small skillet set over medium heat, stirring frequently, until rendered and crisp, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the cooked bacon to paper towels to drain, and nibble on it or reserve it for another use. Off the heat, briefly cool the fat in the skillet.

Place the milk, maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of cooled bacon fat (if there is any more, you can discard it), salt and ice cream in a blender and pulse several times to begin breaking up the ice cream.

With the blender motor off, use a flexible spatula to mash the mixture down onto the blender blades. Continue pulsing, stopping and mashing until the mixture is well blended, thick and moves easily in the blender jar, roughly 30 to 90 seconds. Pour into a chilled glass or glasses, and serve at once.

Per 1/2-cup serving: 219 calories, 13 grams fat, 22 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, 41 milligrams cholesterol, 216 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber, 50 percent of calories from fat.

From "Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes" by Adam Ried (W.W. Norton, $24.95)