Bacon for dessert

MANILA, Philippines - There is no denying that anything with chocolate or bacon is just too hard to resist. But would the culinary attraction still be the same when you marry them together? Erica Paredes poses that question as she offers her line of sweet and salty treats called Happy Bacon.

“This chocolate thing is quite accidental,” the magazine beauty editor says. “I am still very much in the publishing industry, but I’ve always liked to tinker around in the kitchen. I guess you can say cooking is a hidden talent that emerged in the last five or so years.” And while many other amateur home bakers have gone the cake and cupcake route, Erica dabbles with chocolate sans the formal training and with only cookbooks at hand.

Chocolate-covered bacon isn’t actually a new incarnation to the foodie’s wacky and adventurous world. California-based candy shop Marini’s at the Beach has been churning out such treats from its kitchen for two years now. They even have an ice cream version of it. Erica first came across it in New York when her friend told her about a small store that sold handmade chocolates, including one of the things it has become famous for — the chocolate-covered bacon.

“Even before I got to NY, I was already looking forward to it. I know some people would wrinkle their noses at it and think ‘gross,’ but it seemed interesting to me.” She brought home some for family and friends to try (quite expensive at $40 a pound) and, like her, they all loved it. Not long, she started experimenting with different kinds of bacon and chocolates, and the result was an array of salty, smoky sweets that sound so wrong but taste so right.

To date, Happy Bacon has seven items people can choose from. “I’m always trying to think of stuff I can add bacon to, but even if the name of the brand is Happy Bacon, I also try to come up with non-bacon products that are also fun and interesting to eat!” Piggy Stardust (bacon dressed in chocolate) and the now defunct Piggy Pops (choco lollies with bacon bits) may be her initial offerings, but it’s her assortment of truffles, which include the variants rum raisin, caramel mango, peanut butter bacon, chili chocolate bacon, and choco-dipped maple granola balls with bacon bits, that is presently in demand. What’s great with the bacon in her treats is that it remains crispy and doesn’t kill the chocolate goodness with its saltiness.

Also, currently in the works are her breakfast cookies, which are a mix of oatmeal, crushed Oreos, chocolate chunks, maple syrup, marshmallow, bacon bits, and potato chips. In a nutshell, it’s what you ate for breakfast as a child — collectively! I was lucky to have sampled some before everybody else did and I tell you, they’re chewy, packed with flavor in every bite, and can be quite addicting.

I can’t say that I was all over Erica’s truffles (like I normally would with anything made with white chocolate) the first time I tasted them. Still I ended up eating more than I thought I would as I tried to figure out why the bizarre combination simply worked. Indulging in her delicacies doesn’t require one to have an acquired taste or an open mind. Besides, it’s not too far out a gourmet idea compared to street snacks like grilled guts and pig parts. It’s just like dipping French fries in your sundae, a common eating habit (apparently!) that I still have to comprehend, or for a more relatable fare, like pancakes and bacon draped with a generous amount of maple syrup.

“Your mind will tell you bacon and chocolate don’t mix, but your palate will tell you otherwise,” says Erica. “It will make sense once it’s in your mouth.”

In my case, it didn’t. Still something this good doesn’t have to.

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For inquiries and orders, visit happybacon.tumblr.com or e-mail Erica happy_bacon143@yahoo.com. You can also follow her at happybacon143 in Twitter and search for the Happy Bacon fan page in Facebook.

Is Happy Bacon yuck or yum? E-mail me at angelocomsti@gmail.com.