Snickers Cupcakes

Oh yeah, Snickers are one of my favorite candy bars and they deserve to be transformed into an even more scrumptious creation - a cupcake, of course. My roommate loved these, you can see for yourself. 

Anyway I was trying to figure out which chocolate cupcake recipe to use... I was going to use the chocolate cupcake recipe from my Chocolate Cupcakes I made a while back which I filled with Vanilla Pudding and Topped with Chocolate frosting and the whole thing was actually very healthy and no one could tell. Sadly, I had no yogurt so I couldn't make those. I settled for this basic vegan chocolate cupcakes recipe instead. 

Yes, the cupcake part is vegan! That's kinda healthy, right? Woop!


Snickers Cupcakes

Ingredients (serves 5)

For the cupcakes

• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• scant 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• scant 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1.5 of a 1/4 tsp baking soda (so one 1/4 tsp and one half of a 1/4 tsp)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt

For the caramel sauce

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp almond milk
• 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the filling

• caramel sauce from above
• 3 or 4 fun-size Snickers bars, chopped

For the frosting

• caramel sauce
• 1 Tbsp butter, softened slightly and chopped
• ~1 cups powdered sugar
• 2 fun-size Snickers bars, chopped

Instructions

For the cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
• Whisk together the almond milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes.
• Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract to the almond milk mixture and whisk until foamy.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain.
• Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way.
• Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
• Once cupcakes have cooled, use a knife or apple corer to cut out a small hole in the center of each cupcake. (see how I did this in this and this example – recommended).
• Remove the core and discard.

For the caramel sauce

• To make the filling, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir in the salt and brown sugar and heat the mixture to boiling, stirring constantly.
• Cook over low heat for a few minutes, until the sugar is totally dissolved.
• Stir in the milk and return to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in vanilla.
• Cool to lukewarm, about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

For the filling

• To make the cupcake filling, in a medium bowl, combine the chopped Snickers and 2 Tbsp of the cooled caramel sauce and mix to coat.
• Drop a spoonful of the filling mixture into each cupcake.
• Reserve three tablespoons of caramel sauce for drizzling over frosted cupcakes.

For the frosting

• To make the frosting, transfer remaining caramel sauce to the bowl.
• Add chopped 1 Tbsp softened butter.
• Add the powdered sugar, only a little at a time, and beat on medium-high speed until until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
• Adjust consistency with a little more milk or powdered sugar, if necessary.
• Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and frost the cooled and filled cupckaes.
• Drizzle the frosted cupcakes with the remaining caramel sauce and garnish with chopped Snickers bars.