Ingredients
Method
1.Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Lightly grease two large wire racks; place on two large oven trays lined with foil. Combine bacon, sugar and cayenne in a large bowl until bacon is well coated. Place bacon on racks. Bake for 15 minutes or until bacon is caramelised. Cool slightly, then chop coarsely. Reduce oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).
2.Meanwhile, cook macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 2 minutes less than the cooking time on the packet. Drain; return to pan.
3.Make pretzel crumb.
4.Process cream cheese, salt and mustard until smooth. Add half the milk; process until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in remaining milk with cream, cheeses, candied bacon and warm macaroni until combined well. (Mixture will be very wet, but will thicken on cooking.)
5.Spoon macaroni mixture into a lightly oiled 4 litre (16-cup) ovenproof dish. Top with pretzel crumb; bake 20 minutes or until golden.
Place pretzels in a zip-lock plastic bag; crush roughly with a rolling pin. Combine pretzels with butter and cheeses in a medium bowl. You can make the candied bacon a day ahead; store, covered, in the refrigerator.
Note
