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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.
Hi, just want to say that i have made these and they were fantastic. They were gone in seconds. Was wondering also, if this could made into a cake, i have a request for one. Thanks, Love your site.
OMG!! I made these and brought them to work for my friends last day of work. They were FANTASTIC!! I will be sure to make these and be sure to try MANY of your other recipes. Thank you so much. I am so glad I found you on FB.
Hi, These look great! I was just wondering how much butter you would substitute for the vegetable shortening in the icing recipe? :)
Caitlin-
Use an equal amount of butter for the shortening. Have a great weekend.
Jamie
Oh wow. I am so late to the game on this one but I have to add my two coin anyway. I found this gem looking for an amazing cupcake recipe for an office party. First the batter -almost- did not make it to the pan and second the cupcakes almost did not make it to the party! Thank you thank you thank you for such an amazing and easy recipe!! This site = bookmarked forever.
-Katlin
This is the BEST cupcake! I actually used it without the candy for my daughter’s birthday party (to avoid a nut situation!) and got great reviews from parents and kids! I can’t wait to try it with the candy in the middle. I ended up sprinkling the buttercream with mini chocolate chips, some light blue crystalized sugar and topped it with a malted milk ball. They were so cute!
The video was great! Thanks for the tips. Now I am not afraid to use a pastry bag!
Great tutorial! Your video was very clear and professional – thanks for sharing. Off to buy some bigger frosting tips tomorrow.
Can’t wait to try them … thanks for the tips!
Jamie-I tried to make these cupcakes, but they didn’t work. They all sunk in after they were pulled out. I made the frosting into peanut butter-caramel frosting, but that didn’t work either. I’m more than a little frustrated, because the recipe seemed so easy! I’m expected to bring them to a family function over the 4th of July, what can I do next time to make these better?
Valerie
Valerie-
Whenever I stuff a cupcake with a piece of candy, a small divot develops. I really don’t worry too much about it because it gets covered with frosting. Email me some more info about what happened to the frosting and I’ll try to troubleshoot with you. Have a great night.
-Jamie
Valerie–
I am so sorry these didn’t work out for you. Every time I “stuff” a cookie with candy a small divot appears in the center of the top of the cupcake. I usually don’t worry too much about this because it covered with frosting. As far the frosting, can you drop me an email explaining what happened and I can attempt to troubleshoot with you. You can email me at jamie(at)mybakingaddiction(dotcom). Have a great evening.
–Jamie
HI there, Should these cupcakes be refrigerated after you put them together? Are they ok on the counter, or if they should be put in the fridge?
Also is there any milk in the frosting recipie, your other recipes do, just thought I missed something?
How many cups is 1 1/2 pounds of confectioners sugar?
Thanks ever so much
Brittany–
Definitely refrigerate them after the are frosted. There is no milk in this recipe because the caramel syrup will thin the frosting out pretty well on its own. If you find that the frosting is too thick, add a little milk one teaspoon at a time. One pound of confectioners’ sugar is equal to about 3 3/4 cup unsifted. Hope this helps.
–Jamie
May I ask what kind of caramel topping you used? I used a store brand sundae caramel topping (I know, not the smartest idea but I was in a rush!) and I found it to be very runny and I had to almost double the amount of caramel used in the frosting. I’m wondering if there are any spectacular kinds of caramel topping that I should search for next time?