Maple Beer Cake with Salted Caramel Glaze and Bacon Peanut Beer Brittle

Ciao a tutti!! I have a confession to make….I do occasionally make non-Italian recipes. I know, I know, shocking right? The truth is, every now and then I prepare treats that are nowhere near Italian recipes. Hence, my newest creation…..Maple Beer Cake with Salted Caramel Glaze and Bacon Peanut Beer Brittle. I recently made this for a party and everyone went nuts for it!! Since everyone seemed to love it so much and was begging for the recipe, I figured other people might enjoy it. So, even though it’s not Italian, I knew I had to share this with all of you. Enjoy!!!

Maple Beer Cake with Salted Caramel Glaze and Bacon Peanut Beer Brittle

Serves 8 large slices

Bacon Peanut Beer Brittle

6 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp and chopped

¼ cup of beer

1 cup sugar

½ cup corn syrup

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup of peanuts, chopped

Prepare a large pan over medium heat and add the bacon to the pan. Cook until very crisp, around 30 minutes. Cover a plate with a paper towel and put the bacon on the plate to soak up any extra oil. Chop the bacon very finely.

Line a baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper and set aside. Combine the bacon and peanuts in a bowl and set aside.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine beer, sugar and corn syrup until well mixed. Over medium high heat, bring mixture to 250 degrees F without stirring. Add the butter and stir constantly until mixture reaches 320 degrees F. Remove from heat and quickly stir in the baking soda (the mixture will begin to foam). Fold in nut and bacon mix. Pour onto lined baking sheet and spread out evenly. Let harden and cool completely and then break into small pieces. Add the pieces to a food processor and pulse until pieces are small and fine. Once the brittle is done, prepare your glaze…

Salted Caramel Glaze

5 tablespoons butter

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

Pinch of salt

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, dark brown sugar, heavy creamy and salt to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract. Add 1/3 cup of the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Continue to whisk in the sugar until you reach the desired consistency. Set the glaze aside and prepare the cake. 

Maple Beer Cake

2 cups of flour

½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup butter, softened

½ cup light brown sugar

½ cup sugar

¼ cup real maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. maple extract

2 eggs

1/8 cup milk

1/8 cup beer, any kind

Spray a standard 8 by 8 brownie pay with cooking spray and pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the maple syrup, vanilla and maple extract and mix until well combined. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the milk and beer and dry ingredients and mix gently until well combined. Pour into the pan and bake for 40 minutes. You will want to brownies to completely cool before adding the glaze and brittle, around 1 hour and 30 minutes. 

Once you have waited an hour and 30 minutes, add the glaze on top of the cake. You can simply spread it with a butter knife or pour the caramel in a ketchup bottle and squirt it out. After you glaze the cake, add the crumbled Bacon Peanut Beer Brittle. Slice into 8 large pieces and enjoy!