Vegan Snickers Cupcakes
Vegan Snickers Cupcakes — rich chocolate cupcakes with creamy vanilla frosting, gooey vegan peanut butter caramel, and crunchy peanuts. Easy to make, dairy-free, and full of that classic candy bar flavor in cupcake form.
Servings 10 servings
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 120g (1 c) All Purpose Flour
- 30g (⅓ c) Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp Espresso Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- ¾ tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 240g (1 c) Almond Milk
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 150g (¾ c) Vegan Granulated Sugar
- 80g (⅓ c) Canola Oil
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Peanut Butter Caramel
- 113g (½ c) Refined Coconut Oil
- 160g (½ c) Pure Maple Syrup
- 130g (½ c) Natural Peanut Butter
- 65g (½ c) Crushed Peanuts roasted
Vanilla Buttercream
- 228g (1 c) Vegan Butter
- 420g (3 ½ c) Powdered Sugar
- 1½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Tbs- ¼ c Vegan Cream or Almond Milk
- ¼ c Crushed Peanuts for topping optional
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes:
- Prepare your space: Preheat oven to 350℉. Line cupcake pan with 10 liners.
- Create vegan buttermilk: In a small bowl whisk together almond milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract and the vegan buttermilk mixture. Using the paddle attachment, mix together on low.
- Add in the dry mixture, mix on med-low until just combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure the everything is incorporated.
- Scoop batter evenly into 10 cupcakes. A 2 oz scoop works perfectly without having to guess or measure each one.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or when a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling completely.
Peanut Butter Caramel
- In a small saucepan, combine refined coconut oil, maple syrup and natural peanut butter over medium-low heat.
- Stir constantly and bring to a gentle simmer until everything is smooth and creamy.
- Remove from heat and stir in the crushed peanuts and a pinch of salt.
- Taste and adjust sweetness or saltiness to your preference. The caramel will be thin at first - chill in the fridge to thicken for about 30 minutes.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Sift powdered sugar into a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl fixed with the whisk attachment cream the vegan butter until fluffy.
- Next, turn the mixer to low and add in sifted powdered sugar in 1/2 c increments until all of the powdered sugar is mixed in. Turn up mixer to med-high and keep beating the sugar and butter together for 3 full minutes. Make sure to periodically scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl to get everything combined.
- Turn down to low to add in the vanilla extract. Add vegan cream 2 Tbs at a time, checking the consistency. If the frosting is too thick - add more vegan cream, too loose - add a couple more Tbs of sifted powdered sugar.
- Keep frosting refrigerated until ready to use.
Assembly:
- Once everything has been prepared and cooled, you are ready to assemble. First, with a paring knife or apple corer, scoop out a cavity in the middle of each cupcake, half way down. Like a little pocket for the filling to go into.
- Next, spoon or pipe in the peanut butter caramel filling into each cupcake. If it's too thick, you may microwave it for 10-20 sec to loosen it up a bit.
- Re-whip vanilla buttercream frosting, fix piping bag with star tip nozzle and pipe frosting onto each cupcake.
- Sprinkle with more roasted peanuts and enjoy! Store covered in refrigerator for 3-5 days. Bring cupcake to room temperature (about 15 min) before consuming.