Maple Bacon Chocolate Cake - The Merrythought

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder, sifted (I use Hershey’s Special Dark)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup very hot coffee
• 8oz milk/semi mix of good quality chocolate, chopped
• 1/2-2/3 cup heavy cream (use less cream – closer to 1/2 – if you are using a higher milk chocolate ratio, use closer to 2/3 if using more semi chocolate than milk chocolate)
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon maple extract
• 2-4 tablespoons milk
• 5-6 cups powdered sugar