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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 last weekend and they were incredible!! I reviewed the recipe and gave you credit on my blog :) http://tstidbits.blogspot.ca/
Thanks for the great recipe!
TY-
That’s great! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for following MBA and have a fantastic day!
-Jamie
These cupcakes were way too mushy and I did not like the icing at all. It was like eating a stick of butter with powdered sugar on top.
When making buttercream frosting what attachment should I use ?.
I made some for my b-day which was yesterday.
Rosi-
Happy Birthday! I hope you had a wonderful day and enjoyed your cupcakes!
-Jamie
I made these cakes this morning. They tasted great – very moist. However they were more pudding than cake and there was far too much oil in this recipe. Thanks for the tip about freezing the chocolate :)
Calley,
Thank you so much for stopping back to let us know your experience with the recipe! I’m happy that you enjoyed them. Have a great day and thank you for following MBA!
Jamie
Will this work with a gluten free cake mix?? If so, are there any changes that need to be made?? I would love to make some for my son’s birthday, but his girlfriend has to eat gluten-free!!! Thanks for your help!
Hi Jeanette,
I’m really sorry, but I don’t have any advice to offer here. I don’t bake gluten free, and since baking is more science than it is cooking, changing the main structure like that is hard to gauge. Also, I’m not confident that boxed pudding mix or Snickers themselves are gluten free.
– Jamie
Hi! My step sister loves Snickers and I wanted to bake these cupcakes for her birthday! I was wondering if the frosting would be okay if I just got pre-made frosting (betty crocker) and added the caramel in it? Thank you very much!
Hi Katherine,
You would most likely be okay. You might want to add the caramel in a little at a time as you mix, and keep an eye on the texture. You don’t want it to get too liquid-y or soft. They’ll still have caramel flavor, but possibly not as strong.
– Jamie
I made these today and when they started to cool they sunk in the middle. Before I took them out of the oven I checked to see if the tops would,spring back. So I think they were done. Any bakng tips to keep this from happening?
Hi Catherine,
Cupcakes typically sink in the middle if they’ve been filled too full. Try filling the cups up a little less next time.
– Jamie
I have a question and if you can, can you please answer quickly because im making these cupcakes for my moms birthday today. When you say mcake and pudding mixes do you mean the mixes like four bag they come in or make them both and then mix it together
Vnanessa-
The recipe calls for just using the mix the way they are packaged, you do not have to prepare them first. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
-Jamie
Hi, thank you for all these wonderful delicious cupcake recipes. I have not yet try any of these recipes yet, but I will definitely try these when I’m free. And will recommend more of my friends to visit your website :) Thank you ! They look great :D