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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.
I made these cupcakes for a co-workers birthday. I was looking for something different and also had a nice presentation. These cupcakes were a hit!!! I have made them three times in one month everyone loves them!!!
Nice ! :) Do leave you opinion on a slightly different recipe of snickers cupcake on http://www.osugar.weebly.com.
can I make this into a cake but using instead of chocolate cake and chocolate pudding I use everything vanilla, will it still turn out good? thanks!!
I love this recipe! I tried making them tonight to practice for my daughter’s first birthday party. I want to have a cupcake bar. You make icing the cupcakes look so easy!
I think I did something wrong when I made the icing. Mine was not as thick as yours. It was so runny that it melted right off of the cupcakes. It also started to run out of the piping bag. I read that you suggested to add more confectioners sugar to make the icing thicker. I did add more, maybe I needed to add more? Any suggestions? Thanks!
Erin-
I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe and I am sorry to hear the frosting didn’t turn out! It does sound like the frosting needed some more confectioners sugar. I find it most helpful to add the entire amount of sugar before adding the milk or heavy cream. This way I can add a little at a time and judge the consistency as I go. I hope this is helpful!
-Jamie
will this work with other candy? I’d love to try it with reese’s peanut butter cups!
Serina-
Sure, feel free to sub in other candies. Take a look at this post for the peanut butter cup version. https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/peanut-butter-cup-cupcakes/ Have a great day.
-Jamie
I made these cupcakes just recntly and OMGOSH! EVERYBODY loved them! definitly the best cup cakes I’ve ever made. Thank you for posting (:
Linda-
I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the cupcakes. Thanks so much for coming back to MBA to tell us your experience with the recipe.
-Jamie
heyaz, was wondering how do you make the caramel for the drizzle on the frosting of the cupcakes. :)
Rianz-
Hi. I have a caramel sauce recipe here on MBA – you can find it here: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/fundamentals-how-to-make-homemade-caramel-sauce/ or you can simply use a store bought sauce. Have a great weekend.
-Jamie
Hey! I have made these cupcakes more than once and have had the most AMAZING results! Everyone goes crazy for them : ) My friend’s birthday is this weekend and I want to turn this recipe into a cake. I normally only make cupcakes so I’m a little nervous. Do you think it would be easy to make a cake using this recipe? Any suggestions? Thanks!
Sure, a cake will work out just fine. You’ll just have to adjust the baking time depending on what pan size you use. Thanks for stopping by!
-Jamie
hi, Thanks so much for the piping video. I’m a bread baker (fan of Zoe and Jeff!) and am clueless about cupcakes. BUT the local American Cancer Society has asked me to be part of “Battle of the Batter.” They are asking local bakers to make 5 dozen cupcakes. Man, am I confused! It’s like learning a new language.
I’ll be checking your blog for help. Thanks so much.
Judy
The recipe calls for a 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix and a box of pudding. Do you still add the box of pudding if you buy a cake mix with pudding already mixed in? I don’t see the mixes without pudding too often!
thanks so much :o)
Shari-
Yes, but use the smaller box (3.9 ounces). Hope this helps!
-Jamie
Made these with my homemade “snicker” bars. OUTRAGEOUS!!!! Don’t know how to post the picture here, but they came out so nice!
Eileen-
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the cupcakes! Thanks for reporting back!
-Jamie