Signature Desserts

Chrysta Wilson Partners Bacon with Dark Chocolate

Chrysta Wilson, owner of Kiss My Bundt bakery, shares her secrets to making her best-selling cakes in Kiss My Bundt: recipes from the award-winning bakery.

“I consider myself a home baker. I learned my craft in family kitchens, not culinary school,” says Wilson. “When I was starting out, I had so many questions about the chemistry of baking and no answers in plain English. In Kiss My Bund I’m able to share my simple tips on making light, fluffy made-from-scratch cakes with cake lovers everywhere. With everyone searching for money-saving ideas, now is the perfect time to try baking from scratch with all-natural ingredients. Other than a pan, bundt cakes really don’t require special tools, yet the final product tastes so indulgent and makes great gifts.”

But, why bundt? “Having been raised in the South, bundt cake was a part of all my family’s gatherings. I’ve always loved bundt because it is the self decorating cake. With its curves and fluted edges, bundt doesn’t need a lot of extra adornments to make a beautiful presentation,” Wilson says. But the book is not limited to bundt. Wilson provides instructions and baking times for turning her sublime recipes into cupcakes, sheet cakes and even layer cakes.

Chrysta Wilson is a baker with over 20 years of experience, beginning, she says, when she was big enough to stir a mixing bowl. She earned a Bachelors degree in Public Policy and a Masters degree in Public Administration and Management from the University of Southern California.

Dubbed "The Bundt Babe," for her life-long love of bundt cake, Wilson started Kiss My Bundt Bakery in honor of her mother and the two aunts who nurtured her entrepreneurial spirit and love of baking. At Kiss My Bundt is for a Californian spin on the Southern dessert, lightening up traditional bundt recipes and creating cakes in modern flavors, like this Chocolate Bacon Cake.

Chocolate Bacon Cake
From Kiss My Bundt: recipes from the award-winning bakery by Chrysta Wilson

“Many of my best childhood memories are studded with bacon. The thought of pancakes with syrup and bacon still makes my mouth water. That childhood breakfast combo taught me the great culinary secret: salty and sweet make incredible partners. This chocolate bacon cake takes the paring to the next level by partnering smoky bacon with sweet, dark-chocolate goodness,” says Wilson.

1 lb plain or lightly-smoked, thin-cut bacon*
1/3 C brown sugar
1 3/4 C granulated sugar
2 C flour
3/4 C high-fat cocoa powder*
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 C whole milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C bacon grease, (from the 1 lb of bacon)
1 C boiling water

*Heavily-smoked bacon can impart the smoke flavor on the cake. I use applewood smoked, which just lends a hint of its flavor to the cake.

For the Bacon
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cut bacon strips into bite-sized pieces. Cook over medium heat until the bacon is browned and crisp. (You can also cook bacon in the oven on a shallow baking dish lined with foil. Cook at 350 degrees, stirring occasionally, until bacon is brown.)

3. Scoop bacon out of your frying pan and place in a mesh colander/strainer. Press the bacon with the back of a spoon to remove extra grease. Take strained grease plus the grease in your pan and measure. This 1 lb of bacon should yield about 1/2 cup of bacon grease. Set grease aside. If you are short on grease, supplement the difference with vegetable oil.

4. To make the bacon sprinkles, spread the drained, chopped bacon pieces on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Cover with the 1/3 cup brown sugar.

5. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, checking occasionally. The bacon will get crisp in the oven as the brown sugar sweetens it and the grease pulls away.

6. Sort out the bacon pieces from the brown sugar.

7. Finely chop the bacon pieces by hand until you have bacon sprinkles. Add this to the cake in step 8.

8. Save the remaining bacon sprinkles in an air-tight container. Use within a week. You can use as bacon sprinkles on top of a cake frosted with butter cream.

For the Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Set aside.

3. Put eggs, milk, bacon grease and vanilla into a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer beat on medium speed for 1 minute.

4. Add dry ingredients to the beaten egg mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. Do this slowly so that the batter doesn’t develop clumps.

5. Once the batter is well mixed, slowly add boiling water. Note: the batter will be thin.

6. Fold in 1/3 cup of bacon sprinkles. (See bacon recipe above.)

7. Transfer batter to cake pan(s) that have been coated with a baker’s cooking spray that includes flour (or greased and floured), filling until cavity is about 3/4 full.

8. Bake cake(s) until an inserted toothpick or cake tester comes out clean -- about 45 minutes for a big ol' bundt.

9. Invert cake(s) onto a cooling rack or serving plate. If cake resists, cool in the pan for 15 minutes before inverting. (If cake still resists, cool an additional 15 minutes in the pan.) Cool completely before frosting with chocolate buttercream, at least 1 hour for a big ol’ bundt. Top with Bacon Sprinkles.

Recommended Baking Times (although we recommend baking a bundt cake, this batter can be used for any cake shape):

45-50 minutes for a 10-12 cup big ol’ bundt
20-23 minutes for baby or “muffin” bundts
14-17 minutes for mini bundts or cupcakes
28-32 minutes for two 8” rounds or square cake pans

Chocolate Buttercream
“This butter cream calls for cocoa rather than melted chocolate because I love the intensity cocoa brings to the sweet frosting. I particularly like spreading it on coconut cake, then topping the whole thing with slivered almonds,” says Wilson.

3/4 C unsalted butter, softened
3 C powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 C high-fat cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp–2 1/2 tbsp milk, (just enough to thin buttercream to spreading consistency)

1. With an electric mixer, cream butter on medium speed.

2. Turn mixer speed to low, then slowly add powdered sugar and cocoa.

3. When sugar is fully incorporated, add vanilla extract.

4. Then add your milk starting with 2 tsp and using up to 2 1/2 tbsp to thin frosting to a spreading consistency. Mix on a medium speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

Visit http://www.kissmybundtcookbook.com.