Name: Oh Canada Maple Bacon Cake
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 1 9-inch cake
Ingredients: 1 (15.25 ounce) package white cake mix; 1 ¼ cups water; ⅓ cup vegetable oil; 3 eggs; 6 slices maple-cured bacon, or more to taste; 1 cup unsalted butter, softened; 2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar, or as needed; ⅓ cup maple syrup, or as needed; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 tablespoons red colored sugar, or as needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.

Stir cake mix, water, oil, and eggs together in a large bowl until moistened; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour cake mixture into prepared pans.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes; cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels. When cool enough to handle, crumble bacon into a small bowl.

Beat butter until creamy with an electric mixer in a bowl; slowly beat in 2 cups confectioners' sugar until well blended. Beat maple syrup and vanilla extract into butter mixture until smooth and creamy; beat in remaining confectioners' sugar as needed until frosting mixture is a spreadable consistency. Fold crumbled bacon into frosting.

Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread about 1/2 cup bacon frosting evenly over cake. Place second cake layer over the first; spread remaining frosting evenly over sides and top of cake.

Draw or print a maple leaf shape on a piece of paper. Fold the page in half down the center of the leaf; cut along the outline so that you will have a hole in the paper in the shape of a maple leaf. Center the paper on top of the frosted cake; press down slightly on the cut edges. Sprinkle the open area with red sugar; gently remove the paper stencil.

Cook's Notes:

If you prefer to make your cake from scratch, I recommend Simple White Cake.

You can add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon maple extract to the frosting for more intense maple flavour. You could do the same to the cake batter. I would recommend cutting the bacon in half or thirds before wrapping it on!

You can make this as a 4-layer cake also. Slice cake layers horizontally in half using a long piece of dental floss or strong thread. You will also need to increase the amount of frosting you make by 50%.

I've wrapped bacon around the outside of the cake for decoration. You'll need an additional 5 slices bacon. I recommend cutting the bacon strips in half or in thirds to make cutting the cake easier.