Peanut Free Snickers Cupcakes with SunButter Caramel Sauce
I wanted to thank SunButter® for sponsoring this Peanut Free Snickers Cupcakes recipe! As always, all opinions and ideas are 100% my own. Everyone’s favorite chocolate bar in cupcake form – but make it nut free! These Peanut Free Snickers Cupcakes feature a rich chocolate cupcake that is filled with a SunButter caramel sauce that provides the perfect nutty flavor!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Chocolate cupcakes: The cupcakes are rich and full of fudgy chocolate flavor.
Peanut and nut free: Snickers cupcake flavour without the nuts!
Easy and straight forward: Both the cupcakes and the caramel are super easy to make – great for all levels of baker!
Filled with a nutty caramel filling: These snickers cupcakes are filled with a SunButter infused caramel sauce that is rich, caramelly, and nutty is flavor!
Ingredient notes
Natural SunButter: SunButter is an excellent nut-free alternative to other nut butters, such as peanut butter. It is packed with a ton of vitamins, minerals and protein, and is the perfect partner to anything chocolate! SunButter is used to make the caramel sauce – giving it that nutty flavor sans any nuts!
Dutch Cocoa: Dutch cocoa is less acidic and more chocolatey in flavor.
Sour Cream: I like to use full-fat sour cream for this loaf. It adds a ton of moisture and richness.
Hot Coffee: These cupcakes has hot coffee added to the batter to bloom the cocoa powder – making the snickers cupcakes even more chocolatey.
Oil: Oil is used in this recipe, instead of butter, as it makes the cupcakes more fudgy and moist.
Brown Sugar: Brown Sugar is used to make the easy caramel sauce! No fussing around with caramelizing any sugar in this recipe!
How to make SunButter caramel sauce
1. Boil sugars, butter, cream and salt: Mix these ingredients to a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly heat until it comes to a boil. This will take about 3-4 minutes – try to not rush it!
2. Add SunButter. Add in the SunButter, and quickly whisk in until combined. Remove from the heat and allow the caramel sauce to come to room temperature or place in the fridge to cool for a few hours.
How to make chocolate cupcakes
1. Combine wet ingredients: Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, sour cream, and oil, to a large mixing bowl, then beat together with a whisk until the mixture is smooth and well-combined.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Bloom the cocoa: Add the sifted cocoa powder to the warm coffee. Mix until smooth, and then add to the wet mixture from above.
4. Add the dry & wet together: Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and whisk together until smooth. Try not to overmix though!
5. Add to pan & bake: Pour the Chocolate Cupcakes batter into a prepared cupcake pan, then place into the oven to bake! When done, allow the Chocolate Cupcakes to cool completely before topping and filling.
Tips & tricks
Use room temperature ingredients. Using room temperature ingredients means that the cupcakes can bake more evenly, meaning you’ll get a softer, fluffier cupcake.
Use Dutch processed cocoa powder. Dutch cocoa is less acidic and tastes more rich and chocolatey in flavour. Here is a link to my favorite brand.
Use hot coffee. Hot coffee is essential to this recipe! The hot water ‘blooms” cocoa powder, unlocking its full flavor potential, and coffee compliments chocolate, making it more chocolatey tasting (don’t worry, it won’t taste like coffee!).
Sift the cocoa powder. Cocoa powder loves to clump together. Just dump it over a sieve to sift it into the flour to ensure no lumps.
Weigh your ingredients. Weighing the ingredients will yield the best and most consistent results. Volumetric measurement can be off by significant amounts, leading to inconsistent baking.
Whip butter in buttercream until pale. Whipping the butter until it looks very pale and fluffy before adding the confectioners sugar is what creates that airy, fluffy, beautiful buttercream.
Cook the caramel just until it boils. When making the easy peanut-free caramel sauce, you’ll want to cook the butter, sugars, and cream on medium heat. Once the mixture begins to boil (abut 3-4 minutes), add in the sunbutter, stir, and cook for an additional 30 seconds. This will ensure your caramel is the perfect consistency for filling a cupcake!
Equipment required
Cupcake pan: Here is a link to my favorite cupcake pan.
Stand mixer: A stand mixer or a hand blender is pretty essential to making the buttercream!
How to store the snickers cupcakes
Room Temperature: The frosted and filled cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for a day.
Fridge: The cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-6 days.
Freezer: The unfilled cupcakes can be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months. The caramel can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
FAQ
Yes, you can use regular cocoa.
Use either a cupcake corer, paring knife, or the back of a large piping tip, to remove a 1” circle from the centre of each cupcake. Use a spoon, or a piping bag, to insert caramel filling into the cupcake. Fill each cupcake until it almost reaches the top.
You can use buttermilk in place of the sour cream, but not regular milk, as this recipe requires an acid to activate the baking soda.
Yes, see storage instructions above for storing at room temperature and in the fridge.
They can be left at room temperature for a day in an airtight container.
Related recipes
SunButter Pretzel Chocolate Cupcakes
Earl Grey Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Quick & Easy Chocolate Cupcakes
Get the Recipe: Peanut Free Snickers Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 Large Egg,, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) Sugar
- 1/2 cup (120g) Sour Cream,, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (55g) Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 6 tbsp (38g) Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
- 6 tbsp (90g) Hot Freshly Brewed Coffee
SunButter Caramel Sauce
- 1/4 cup (58g) Unsalted Butter,, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp White Sugar
- 2/3 cup (150g) Heavy Cream
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/3 cup (80g) Natural SunButter
Caramel Buttercream
- 1 cup (227g) Unsalted Butter,, at room temperature
- 3 ½ cups (420g) Confectioners Sugar
- 1/3 cup SunButter Caramel Sauce
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- Heavy Cream,, if needed to desired consistency.
- Dark Chocolate Shavings,, for garnish
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together to combine. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, add egg, sugar, sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth and well combined.
- In a small mixing bowl or 2-cup liquid measuring cup, add the hot coffee and cocoa powder. Whisk together until well-combined and smooth. Allow to sit for 2 minutes, then add the cocoa mixture into the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients (eggs, sour cream, etc.), then mix until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and mix until smooth. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling 2/3 full, and bake for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before filling and frosting.
- Once cooled, using a cupcake corer or paring knife, cut out an approximately 1 inch deep piece from the top of each cupcake, and fill each with cooled SunButter caramel sauce.
SunButter Caramel Sauce
- Add butter, brown sugar, white sugar, cream and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly heat until it comes to a light bubble – about 3-4 minutes
- Once bubbling, add in the SunButter, and quickly whisk in until combined. Remove from the heat and allow the caramel sauce to come to room temperature or place in the fridge to cool for a few hours to cool off.
Caramel Buttercream
- Add butter to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high until butter is doubled in volume, and looks light and fluffy.
- Turn the stand mixer to low and slowly add the confectioners sugar. Beat until completely incorporated, then add in the caramel and vanilla. Beat until well-combined and fully incorporated. Add whipped cream, if desired, to preferred consistency.
- Pipe onto cupcakes, sprinkle with shaved chocolate and drizzle remaining caramel sauce over frosted cupcakes.
