Rolo Cupcakes

by Jamie on June 27, 2011

Post image for Rolo Cupcakes

I am finally back from a mini vacation at Oglebay Resort in West Virginia. I’m so not the outdoorsy type; therefore, it wasn’t my favorite idea for a vacation. But Brian was happy to spend time with his family, so I put aside my girly ways and dealt with the whole “roughing it” vibe. Well, if you consider hanging in a cabin “roughing it”. I’ll touch more on Oglebay in an upcoming post, because today is simply devoted to these incredibly decadent Rolo Cupcakes.

While I was away, Kristan and Amber took over MBA for a few days with their Rolo creations. Both of their recipes had me craving caramel and wishing that I brought along my baking gear to West Virgina.

Before I left town, I whipped up these super simple Rolo Cupcakes using my Snicker’s Cupcake recipe as inspiration. I started with my favorite doctored up cake mix recipe, nestled a frozen Rolo in the middle of the batter, topped the baked cupcakes with caramel infused buttercream and finished with a drizzle of ganache and a Rolo. Are you drooling yet?

If you aren’t a fan of boxed mixes, simply substitute your favorite from scratch chocolate cupcake recipe. I’m pretty sure you’ll still have amazing results. Be sure to stop back tomorrow for the finale to Rolo Week, which may have something to do with ice cream. Yes, I went there – and you won’t want to miss it.

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Rolo Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes

1 (18.25 ounce) package Devil’s Food Cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs; lightly beaten
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon of vanilla
24 frozen Rolos (freeze for at least 2 hours)

For the frosting

4 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
⅓ cup caramel syrup
1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar

For the ganache

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into very small pieces
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla

24 Rolos for garnish

Directions:

For the cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Line (2) 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, water and vanilla until well combined and smooth.

4. Evenly divide the batter amongst the prepared pans. {I use a large cookie scoop from OXO to scoop my batter; it holds 3 tablespoons}.

5. Gently push a frozen Rolo into the center of the batter and smooth the surface making sure to cover the candy with batter.

6. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch. A small divot may appear in the center of the cupcake, no worries though because you’ll cover that with frosting.

7. Cool cupcakes thoroughly on wire rack.

For the frosting

1. Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, salt and caramel syrup and combine well.

2. 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.

For the ganache

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the heavy cream until very hot, but not boiling.

2. Place chocolate pieces in a heat safe bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes. Whisk the cream and chocolate until smooth and thoroughly combined. Whisk in the honey, corn syrup, and vanilla. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Do not let the glaze sit for too long or it will harden up before you spoon it over the frosting.

3. Spoon the glaze on the tops of the frosted cupcakes, allowing it to drip down the sides a little bit. Don’t add too much glaze or it will drip all over your liners.

4. Top each cupcake with a Rolo.

5. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator. Remove them to room temperature one hour before serving.

Notes:

- Ganache from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen
- Cupcake stand from Shop Sweet Lulu
Cupcake liners from Shop Sweet Lulu

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{ 64 comments… read them below or add one }

avatar 1 Katrina June 27, 2011 at 12:39 am

I think I’d like to make these for my own birthday! Yum!

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avatar 2 Maris (In Good taste) June 27, 2011 at 4:14 am

One word-decadent!

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avatar 3 Blog is the New Black June 27, 2011 at 5:28 am

Gorgeous and delicious!

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avatar 4 Barbara @ Barbara Bakes June 27, 2011 at 8:14 am

I’m not generally a cupcake lover, but these cupcakes could change that – fabulous idea!

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avatar 5 Lauren at Keep It Sweet June 27, 2011 at 8:29 am

Love these cupcakes!

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avatar 6 Rachel @ The Avid Appetite June 27, 2011 at 10:20 am

These look like a decadent piece of heaven! Wishing I had some for my mid-morning snack. That’s normal, right? :)

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avatar 7 Ann June 27, 2011 at 10:42 am

Really, really amazing! They look delicious and your pics are incredible! I love the cupcake stand!

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avatar 8 Amber June 27, 2011 at 10:55 am

So cute. I heart Rolo Week. ;)

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avatar 9 Urban Wife June 27, 2011 at 10:58 am

Those look pretty darn good.

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avatar 10 sweetsugarbelle June 27, 2011 at 10:59 am

Yes drooling and now heading to find snickers cupcakes ;-)

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avatar 11 Nourhan @ Miss Anthropist's Kitchen June 27, 2011 at 11:12 am

Those cupcakes sound SO good!

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avatar 12 Tracy June 27, 2011 at 11:21 am

These look amazing; especially that frosting….yum, I could eat barrels of that alone! Glad you had a good time on vacation. :-)

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avatar 13 Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction June 27, 2011 at 11:32 am

These cupcakes look fabulous… I’m a big fan of all of the rolo desserts! Love the look of that frosting… Yum!

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avatar 14 Amanda June 27, 2011 at 11:48 am

Glad you are back… these look absolutely amazing. Cant wait to try!

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avatar 15 BreAna June 27, 2011 at 1:04 pm

These look fabulous! I am definitely going to try them out!! :)

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avatar 16 Jaime {sophistimom} June 27, 2011 at 1:09 pm

Those are so beautiful—I love the way a little bit of the frosting peeks through the drizzle of chocolate.

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avatar 17 Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. June 27, 2011 at 1:11 pm

awesome! I love these

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avatar 18 Carey June 27, 2011 at 1:46 pm

I’m loving the rolo recipes, but my figure is not :(

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avatar 19 Valerie June 27, 2011 at 1:54 pm

You have no idea how lucky i feel to have found you! I love your blog!

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avatar 20 Savorique June 27, 2011 at 2:06 pm

Gorgeous, I wish they were available for sale…

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avatar 21 Carole June 27, 2011 at 4:39 pm

You’ve styled them so beautifully. Yum!

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avatar 22 teri@thefreshmancook June 27, 2011 at 4:58 pm

I am loving your rollo recipes. I plan on making the rollo brownies later today. I made your homemade cherry pie filling last night. It was fantastic!!

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avatar 23 Kimmy @ Lighter and Local June 27, 2011 at 6:09 pm

There are very few things I like better in this world than rolos. In cookies, cupcakes, ice cream, whatever. This is simply tempting me too much. Will be picking up a bag of rolos in the AM.

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avatar 24 Connie the Cookie Monster June 27, 2011 at 6:21 pm

the icing sounds so dreamy, i want to eat some straight out of a bowl right noww

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avatar 25 Dahlia June 27, 2011 at 7:56 pm

Oooh…. very yummy looking cupcakes!!

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avatar 26 Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen June 27, 2011 at 8:31 pm

Beautiful! Those are showstoppers.

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avatar 27 Naina @chowbella June 27, 2011 at 8:47 pm

Where did you get that cute little pedestal? And the cupcakes look amazing as usual!

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avatar 28 Jamie June 27, 2011 at 8:58 pm

Naina–

Thanks for visiting. There is a link to the pedestal at the bottom on the recipe box, it’s from Shop Sweet Lulu. Thanks so much.

Jamie

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avatar 29 TidyMom June 27, 2011 at 10:51 pm

Oh Jaimie this look and sound AMAZING!! we LOVE Rolos at our house!

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avatar 30 Shaina June 28, 2011 at 12:56 am

We …okay, I adore Rolos. Adore. Perfection in a cupcake if you’re me.

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avatar 31 Paula June 28, 2011 at 11:06 am

Beautiful cupcake. Perhaps the next vacation will be at a place that you will really enjoy!

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avatar 32 Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking June 28, 2011 at 1:02 pm

These look too decadent to eat!

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avatar 33 Nancy @SensitivePantry June 28, 2011 at 9:56 pm

These are so tempting! Love the Rolo on top…and the secret Rolo center. And, that little cupcake stand.

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avatar 34 Beth Michelle June 29, 2011 at 3:45 am

How in the world were you able to take rolos and make them even better?! These were my most favorite candy as a kid. These cupcakes look amazing.

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avatar 35 jess white @athriftyfoodie June 29, 2011 at 3:54 am

Wow, lovely photos and lovely cakes. So luxurious!

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avatar 36 Angie Sansom June 29, 2011 at 5:10 am

Oh wow, these cupcakes look fabulous. Forget the diet, well for this week anyway, so many fabulous recipes on this website. Thank you

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avatar 37 Jayme (Random Blogette) June 29, 2011 at 8:27 am

So is there any way that you could hand deliver those to my house in Ohio? K, Thanks! =) I miss rolos!

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avatar 38 Kristen June 29, 2011 at 9:06 am

These are beyond amazing. I love caramel!!

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avatar 39 Hannah@ Bake Five June 29, 2011 at 10:03 am

these cupcakes look just lovely!

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avatar 40 Casey June 29, 2011 at 7:49 pm

Oh my, these are gorgeous!

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avatar 41 Vanessa July 1, 2011 at 12:45 am

Wow! These look divine… I may have to make them

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avatar 42 caiti July 1, 2011 at 3:31 am

uhh, the only word that comes to mind when i see this is YUM!!!

i linked this to my blog, caitimae-bakes.blogspot.com

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avatar 43 Gina Horn July 2, 2011 at 12:30 am

This sounds so fabulous! can’t wait to try this recipe!

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avatar 44 Mommyof2Girlz/StephD July 3, 2011 at 9:35 am

Wow this looks amazing, had to pin it and share. Thanks for the recipe I can not wait to try it!

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avatar 45 Elizabeth July 6, 2011 at 12:22 pm

I made these cupcakes this weekend and they are UNBELIEVABLE. Seriously, the best cupcakes ever. I’m so glad I found your site!

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avatar 46 katie July 11, 2011 at 11:29 am

Saw this on Food Gawker… had to pin it on pinterest! Love rolo’s! I can’t wait to bake this up!

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avatar 47 TiffH July 13, 2011 at 1:15 pm

I HAD to buy rolos because of this post. mmmm…. I haven’t had them in years. Now on to the cupcake recipe.

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avatar 48 Pam July 18, 2011 at 10:50 am

These look wonderful, I want to try the recipe tomorrow, but I’m mot sure what caramel syrup is, could you explain?

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avatar 49 Vicki July 21, 2011 at 5:34 pm

I made these today. The buttercream and ganache were delicious. I some of my cakes, the frozen rolo sank to the bottom and became chewy. In others, it just became absorbed and disappeared. What should happen?
I’m in the UK so maybe our rolos are different?

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avatar 50 Alyssa Armstrong August 7, 2011 at 1:43 pm

Omg these are a dream come true! I am dying to make these! You’re a genius!!!!

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avatar 51 Sam Henderson October 7, 2011 at 7:11 pm

You get me every time! That photo looks divine.

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avatar 52 Emily November 6, 2011 at 7:00 am

Thank you! My coworkers will freak. <3
http://miscupcakes.tumblr.com/post/12413804990

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avatar 53 Alissa December 17, 2011 at 1:13 pm

My mom and I are making these right now, but using our own frosting. :) These sound delicious!

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avatar 54 Ruby April 21, 2012 at 11:50 am

Okay, So I started making these last night because this recipe totally inspired me to start baking again, so far so good. I’ll be making the caramel buttercream today. But instead of chocolate ganache, I’m topping it with a little caramel sauce. I’ll let you know when they’re done. I’m so excited! Thanks for posting this AWESOME recipe!

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avatar 55 Jamie April 21, 2012 at 11:51 am

Ruby-
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and that My Baking Addiction reignited yours! Have an amazing weekend.
-Jamie

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avatar 56 Ruby April 22, 2012 at 11:01 pm

I made them! They turned out so well. Everyone loved them! I wish I could show you a picture, I’m just beaming with pride over these cute cupcakes. Thanks again for this amazing recipe :)

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avatar 57 Lily @ Sugar and Slice April 25, 2012 at 6:39 pm

Great, I think I just broke my laptop by drooling on it, thanks a bunch!
seriously though these look amazing.
When I bake with chocolate I usually get complaints that the combination of butter cream and chocolate is too sweet and rich, how do you get around this problem?

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avatar 58 Fe May 10, 2012 at 4:17 pm

These cupcakes look GREAT! I was planning on making them tonight after work but I won’t have time to freeze the rolos for 2 hours…is freezing the rolos for 2 hours a MUST?

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avatar 59 Joan June 24, 2012 at 3:42 pm

This recipe to to die for good. I LOVE the frosting and the hint of caramel taste. Yum!

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avatar 60 Lise July 13, 2012 at 2:24 pm

1 1/2 pounds of icing sugar for the icing? Can someone convert that to cups for me?

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avatar 61 Sharon Glanville at BeBetsy September 25, 2012 at 5:21 pm

Totally decadent! My kind of treat.

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avatar 62 Stephanie L October 1, 2012 at 3:27 pm

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a loonnnggg time and I’m finally getting the opportunity to make them for a girlfriends 39th birthday party. So excited!! Love that you come up with these combos!!

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avatar 63 LindsayLoo October 10, 2012 at 3:01 pm

Hello all – Okay now can I just say that these sound more fabulous than a date night with Christian Grey?!?! ;) LOL but seriously and on a more G-rated level, has anyone tried to make the cupcakes (not the frosting) ahead of time and freeze them? I am planning ahead for my daughter’s birthday… Thanks in advance for any tips?! :)

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avatar 64 Jamie October 15, 2012 at 4:56 pm

Lindsay-
Ha! You win best comment of the month! I have never frozen the cupcake portion of this recipe, but I am betting they’ll be just fine. Thanks for stopping by!
-Jamie

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