Blueberry Pancake & Maple Bacon American Flag Cake

June 20, 2013

The start of the summer is upon us and the July 4th Holiday is just around the corner and I was thinking about what I could bring to a friends festive gathering....of course I have to bring something with frosting and a cake seemed reasonable - but I wanted it to be different and as my brain often does - it wandered.....directly to bacon.  And I thought... WHY NOT? And let me tell you that this was one of my more amazing sparks of brilliance EVER.  Make this.  Practice it first ...not because it's hard but because you really should have two and you will NOT be sorry that you tried it first.  I made mine gluten free with the help of my local Wegmans but the recipe could be adapted for any gluten free baking mix (this one and  this one are options available on  Amazon that are comparable).

Blueberry Pancake & Maple Bacon American Flag Cake

Yield: About 15 servings Ingredients  Pancake Cake: 1 box Wegman’s gluten free all purpose baking mix 2 cups skim milk 3 large eggs 1/3 cup all natural applesauce ½ cup brown sugar, packed ½ teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon maple extract Blueberry Sauce: 1 pint blueberries - 20 set aside for decoration 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice pinch salt ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract Maple Frosting: 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted ½ teaspoon maple extract ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract pinch salt 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons heavy cream Toppings: 1 16oz package maple flavored bacon Directions

To make the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Mix together the milk, eggs, and applesauce in a large bowl. Add the all purpose baking mix, brown sugar, maple extract, and cinnamon and mix until the lumps disappear. Be careful not to overbeat.
3. Pour batter in the lined baking dish and bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

For the Blueberry Sauce:

1. In a medium saucepot over medium heat, mash the blueberries, brown sugar, lemon juice, salt, and vanilla. As the mixture heats up, crush 2/3 of the blueberries and stir.
2. Let the mixture come to a boil and boil for 2 minutes and then remove from heat. Pour into a heat-proof bowl and chill in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.

For the Maple Frosting:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter till smooth. Add the sugar and continue mixing.
2. Add the maple extract, vanilla extract, and salt and whip for 5 minutes. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
3. Add the heavy cream and mix another 2-3 minutes.

For the Maple Bacon Stripes:

1. Open the package of bacon and line the strips flat on a baking sheet so they are not touching. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove the bacon from the oven, place on paper towels, and allow to cool.
2. Once cool, trim the strips so that they are straight lines of equal size.

To assemble: 

1. Flip the cooled cake over onto a parchment lined tray. You will be frosting the bottom of the cake as the top. Carefully peel the parchment paper off the bottom of the inverted cake.
2. Dollop 2/3 of the frosting on the center of the cake. Using an offset spatula, slowly spread the frosting out towards the edges and down the sides. Smooth out the frosting evenly around the cake.
3. Take the 20 blueberries and outline the blue rectangle in the upper left hand corner of the cake.
4. Take about 2 tablespoons of the cooled Blueberry Sauce and scoop it into the blueberry-lined rectangle.
5. Place the rest of the Maple Frosting in a pastry bag with a mini star tip attachment and dollop tiny stars in rows on top of the Blueberry Sauce.
6. Using your trimmed bacon strips, create the red stripes buy laying them down and pressing softly to adhere to the frosting.
7. Take the remainder of your trimmed bacon strips and line them around the edges of the cake.

To serve:  Cut slices and serve each with a spoonful of Blueberry Sauce on top and you get this:

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