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Ever since I was a kid, I remember my dad putting his candy bars in the freezer because he supposedly enjoyed them more when they were frozen. Amusingly they were always buried under a bag of frozen peas or a box of pierogies, so I tend to think he was attempting to hide them from the rest of us.
Now that I am a full fledged adult, I don’t eat candy bars all that often, but you can bet when I do indulge, those babies get frozen first. This recipe is a little homage to my frozen candy bar loving dad, Bill; although I like to call him Billiam for kicks.
These cupcakes consist of a moist doctored up cake mix recipe with a little surprise in the center, topped with creamy caramel buttercream and a finished with a little sprinkling of chopped Snickers and a caramel drizzle. Are you drooling yet? This recipe is rich, sweet, decadent and every candy bar lover’s dream!
This is definitely a semi-homemade type of dessert; if you’re opposed to doctored up box mixes, no worries, just sub in your favorite chocolate cake recipe. Personally, I think the cake recipe below is pretty rocking and I use it when I am in a hurry or need an incredibly moist cake. I hope you give this recipe a try because it’s definitely a crowd pleaser! Brian used the word incredible to describe these cupcakes and that is not an adjective he tosses around very often.
In other news, you will find my first vlog posted below. Yep, I busted out the video camera, put on my best campy voice and recorded a video detailing my favorite piping tips, and the super technical {note sarcasm} techniques that I use to frost the cupcakes you see on MBA. I promise when I venture into vlog land again, I will lose a little of the cheesiness, but hey, I was nervous! Enjoy watching; I hope my newly acquired Muppet voice gives you a little chuckle! Does anyone like the sound of their voice…mine sure makes me cringe!
Cupcake Piping How-To from My Baking Addiction on Vimeo.
Snickers Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 15.25 ounces devil's food cake mix
- 3.4 ounces instant chocolate pudding mix
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- ½ cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 24-30 Snickers Miniatures frozen, plus more for topping
For the frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup shortening
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ pounds confectioners’ sugar
- ⅓ cup caramel topping plus more for drizzling
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line (2) 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, vanilla and water.
- Evenly divide the batter amongst the prepared pans. {I use a large cookie scoop from OXO to scoop my batter; it holds 3 tablespoons.}
- Gently push a frozen Snickers Miniature bar into the center of the batter and smooth the surface making sure to cover the candy bar with batter.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool cupcakes thoroughly on wire rack.
For the frosting:
- Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, salt and caramel syrup and combine well.
- Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, give it a taste and decide if you want to add in more caramel syrup. For thicker frosting you can gradually add in a little more sugar.
- Garnish with chopped Snickers bars and a drizzle of caramel of caramel syrup.
Notes
- Not a fan of Snickers? Sub in your favorite candy bar, just make sure you freeze them first.
- Not a fan of vegetable shortening? No worries, simply sub in butter for the shortening.
- Edited: 6/26/15 due to a change in boxed cake mix content size.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
you’r a natural …plus your voice is 1000 times more pleasant to listen to than marthastewart…love the video and the cupcakes!
I made these when you posted the recipe. LOVED them!! Yesterday I thought I’d mix it up a bit and made them with Reese’s PB Cups. WOW!! I put the frozen mini in the cupcake and it was such a treat to bit into and have that little surprise in the middle. For the frosting, I made my regular chocolate buttercream, but then added about 3 TBS creamy peanut butter. (I could have added more, but my hubby is not a fan of PB… so I kept it to a minimum for him.) :)
I took them to church and gave them to my class of 8 year olds and they ooo’ed and ahhh’ed. One little girl even insisted that I give her mom the recipe!
Thank you for the tasty treat!!
SO divine. I made this last weekend and it was a huge hit. I need to bake more of these
Thanks so much for the instructions regarding the French tip! I’ve been trying to figure out how to do the first method you demonstrated with no luck – I think I’ll need to make cupcakes again soon and try it!
– Maggie
These cupcakes look delicious! And thanks so much for the vlog, the tips will definitely help in the future :)
These sound amazing!!! Thanks for the video too, I can never seem to do the frosting right without getting it all over me!!
Quick question… would this work as a cake?? Or should I make a couple of adjutments to it for it to work?? My husbands birthday is coming up and he really wants a snickers cake… this is by far the most delicious recipe I have found!!
Thanks!
These were a huge hit with the sorority. I think the best part of the cupcake is the caramel buttercream – something I’ll use over again even if I’m doing just a plain chocolate cupcake. Presentation was fantastic – it’s a keeper. Thanks so much.
Do you pipe your frosting on standard sized cupcakes??? It seems with the large diameter of my tip so much frosting comes out that it seems like I don’t have enough space to pipe on a standard size cupcake!!! I probably need more practice ;-)
Thank you for the recipe. And big THANKS for the great video!!!! I enjoy reading through your website to get great ideas!