Queen City Cookies’ Bacon Schnecken. — AFP/Relaxnews picNEW YORK, June 18 — The sweet and savoury pairing of bacon and caramel shows no sign of waning, whether it be fast food and restaurant chains launching bacon sundaes, or gourmet bakeries creating glazed sticky buns studded with shards of bacon.

While it may have been dismissed as an unusual flavour combination with a short shelf life, the trend is still going strong years after surfacing, as consumer enthusiasm has yet to dampen.

The latest glazed bacon offing to get tongues wagging — and salivating? A bacon-studded sticky bun from Cincinnati-bakery Queen City Cookies, shortlisted in the category of Outstanding New Product at a major gourmet food show this weekend, the Summer Fancy Food Show in Washington DC.

Inspired by German pastries, the Bacon Schnecken — which means ‘snail’ in German — is made with Plugrá butter, a baking butter with higher fat content and is glazed with a caramel sauce and pieces of bacon.

Like the ever popular maple bacon donut — a donut glazed with maple icing and bacon pieces — the Bacon Schnecken could be described as a bacon and French toast breakfast plate rolled into one.

What used to be a cult, fringe food pairing has penetrated the mainstream, with fast food chain Burger King launching a bacon sundae on their new summer menu this month, a play taken from Denny’s whose Maple Bacon Sundae became a wild success last year.

Then there are jars of bacon spreads which are likewise turning up on the shelves of gourmet grocery stores under names like bacon jam and bacon marmalade.

Skillet Bacon Spread out of Seattle, for example, is made with onions, brown sugar, balsamic and sugar, while major Canadian grocer Loblaws also makes a bacon marmalade under its luxury Black Label brand. — AFP/Relaxnews