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I’m been enduring quite a bit of harassment at work. No, not that kind of harassment, but harassment nonetheless. Ya see, I haven’t been baking a lot lately. I was sick, then lazy, then sick again and the coworkers weren’t getting their weekly sugar high, so my boss and the building resource officer set out to basically annoy me into baking.
I have not been greeted with a “Good Morning,” nope, it’s more like “Where are the cupcakes?” Which typically I’d brush off, but since Justin is moving to giant piece of self-sufficient land in the middle of nowhere very soon, I thought I’d give the guy a proper send off.
Both my boss and Justin are candyholics, yep, they’re the guys noshing on chocolate at 7:30am and have no qualms about consuming cupcakes with their morning coffee. Due to their love affair with chocolate, candy bars, and cupcakes, I set out to create something that encompassed all of these things.
These Heath Bar Cupcakes have that delicious, buttery toffee flavor baked right into the cake. They’re then topped with my favorite buttercream frosting and a drizzle of rich, dark chocolate ganache. As if that wasn’t enough, I nestled a piece of Heath Bar directly on top of each cupcake for a finishing touch.
These Heath Bar Cupcakes went over famously and were just what the coworkers were harassing me for. I don’t know what they’re going to do all summer without their cupcake fix because tomorrow is my last day or work. Woo-Hoo! I’m so excited to blog full time for the summer and can’t wait to share delicious recipes and giveaways with you all summer long!
Heath Bar Cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant espresso granules dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water
1 cup Heath English Toffee Bits
For the Buttercream
4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
For the Ganache
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into very small pieces
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 1.4-ounce Heath Bars, chopped into large pieces
Directions:
For the Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla and espresso water mixture. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined. Fold in Heath English Toffee Bits.
3. Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells; about 3 tablespoons of batter per well.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 10 minutes.
5. Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, prepare your frosting.
For the Buttercream
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Slowly add in confectioner’s sugar, and continue creaming until well blended.
2. Add salt, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
For the Ganache
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the heavy cream until very hot, but not boiling.
2. Place chocolate pieces in a heat safe bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes. Whisk the cream and chocolate until smooth and thoroughly combined. Whisk in the honey, corn syrup, and vanilla. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Do not let the glaze sit for too long or it will harden up before you spoon it over the frosting.
3. Spoon the glaze on the tops of the frosted cupcakes, allowing it to drip down the sides a little bit. Don’t add too much glaze or it will drip all over your liners.
4. Top each cupcake with a piece of Heath Bar.
5. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator. Remove them to room temperature one hour before serving.
Notes:
- If you are not a fan of doctored cake mixes, no worries. Simply sub in your favorite from scratch recipe.
- Recipe for the ganache is from the fabulous Kristan, of Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.
- Brown cupcake liners are from Bake It Pretty.
- Frosting was piped using the large round tip from Bake It Pretty.
- For piping tips, check out my How To Video.
Follow Jamie on Instagram. We love to see what you're baking from MBA! Be sure to tag @jamiemba and use the hashtag #mbarecipes!
Love these! Heath are an all-time favorite of mine…and the nagging is RELENTLESS sometimes for sweets ~ love my friends, but jeez!
Mmm, can’t I just say one thin, this looks exactly like a sundae cake. It’s one of the things that I’ve definitely been waiting for and I’m glad my wait is over. I’ve had the best experience trying this recipe and now my family loves it more than ever. Thanks
I’ve made these before and they were DIVINE! However, a friend of mine allergic to dairy has asked me to make cupcakes and I’d like to use this recipe.. Is there any way to make it dairy-free?
Hey, Liv!
I honestly have no idea how to make these dairy-free – sorry I can’t be of more help! Thanks for stopping by!
-Jamie
Okay, these are to die for. I am in love with everything chocolate, so this totally makes me want to go and start baking right now. The problem I have is that although my baking tastes pretty good, I can never seem to get it to look like the ones I see on baking blogs. I think patience is the key…I will need to try these out, and will come back here and let you know how it turned out!
Your site is my new fav! You are definitely speaking my language here! I made this recipe for my girls night and used the batter for three different desserts (mini cupcakes, cake pops, and individual trifles). Each one was amazing. I didn’t have instant espresso so I subbed an equal amount of really strong coffee. YUM! All my girls were asking about the recipe and I was thrilled to share your site with them. Thanks!
ok..let me just say this about this cupcakes…THEY WERE THE BEST CUPCAKES I’VE EVER MADE!!! They were super moist and surprisingly were not overly sweet. Now don’t get me wrong they are sweet but not as sweet as you would think they would be. The ganache balances out nicely with the sweet cake and frosting. My mom nearly died when she took her first bite. I know have to make these for my boyfriend’s co-workers and i know that they will just love them!! Thanks for the recipe!!!!
Oh my heavens these are fantasticly sinful! I can’t wait to try one!
After seeing this posted, I figured that this was a recipe that was worth trying. Among my friends, colleagues, and neighbors I’m known for my baking and cooking, but most prominently my baking (in particular, cupcakes). Usually my recipes are a bit non-traditional- I don’t use chocolate much at all and vanilla, aside from being added into something more complex, is not a flavor I typically use.
My neighbor commissioned me to make these for her boss, who is having her birthday party at work today. With all the doctoring I was a little nervous that this would not turn out well. That, and my oven, which is really cute and old, but cooks about as even as a guy with only one leg on a stilt, tends to burn half of all batches no matter what.
First off, I have to say, the cupcakes are super squishy/spongey and moist. One of the best cakes I’ve ever had. However, that wasn’t all. The buttercream, which I almost NEVER try when I make it, was off-the-charts good. These cupcakes turned out to be, if not the best, one of the top two best cupcakes that I’ve ever made. Thank you sooooo much for the recipe! I will definitely continue to follow your blog regularly!
Nicole–
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a detailed review of the recipe. I am thrilled that you enjoyed it so much. Happy Baking!
–Jamie
I made these for Fathers day. All the dads LOVED them. They also gave them to some of there friends, They said it was the best cupcakes they ever had. Thanks so much! Making them again for sure!
Oh my…These look delish!