Crème Brûlée Cupcakes

 Get ready to indulge in the magic of Crème Brûlée Cupcakes, a treat that redefines decadence! These luxurious cupcakes start with a soft, custard-like vanilla cake that’s filled and frosted with my ultimate pastry cream. This pastry cream is a game-changer—crafted using a simple one-pot method, it serves double duty as both the filling and frosting, bringing effortless elegance to your baking.

To honor the crème brûlée tradition, each cupcake is crowned with a thin layer of sugar, then torched to golden perfection, creating a crisp caramel shell. Crack through the sugary crust to discover the silky smooth vanilla bean custard beneath—a sensory delight that’s as stunning to look at as it is to taste.

These cupcakes are true showstoppers, perfect for impressing guests at your next celebration. If you’re a cupcake enthusiast, don’t miss my Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe or the rich and comforting One Bowl Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting. Prefer chocolate? Dive into my decadent Chocolate Cupcake Recipe. Whatever your preference, these creations are guaranteed to elevate your baking game!

Ingredients

Pastry cream filling & topping:

• 1 x recipe Easy One Pot Vanilla Pastry Cream
• ½ cup (100g) coarse sugar such as raw, turbinado or sanding sugar

Cupcake batter:

• 6 tablespoon (84g) unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon (7ml) pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ¼ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (3g) cornstarch
• 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup plus 1 tbsp (95ml) whole milk
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) sunflower oil (you can also use canola oil or vegetable oil)

NOTE: for best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients.

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
2. Make the pastry cream filling following the instructions in this post. NOTE: I recommend making this a day in advance. In a small 1-quart saucepan, combine sugar, corn starch and flour and whisk to blend evenly so there are no lumps of starch or flour. Very slowly begin to whisk in the cream so that it blends smoothly with the starch/sugar mixture. Once all the cream is added, you can pour in the milk and whisk well. Add egg yolks one a time and whisk them in evenly before each addition. Massage the vanilla bean to soften it and loosing the little seeds inside. Split it in half lengthwise using a sharp paring knife and scrape out those little seeds from both sides. Add the seeds to the pot and then add the scraped bean/pod as well.
3. Place the sauce pot over medium-low heat and whisk constantly until it starts to thicken. Be patient as this can take up to 10 minutes. Increase the heat slightly to medium if necessary, but do not walk away from the pan and do not stop stirring as it can easily catch and scorch at the bottom of the pan.
4. Once the mixture starts to thicken, lower the heat and watch carefully. Once it starts to bubble, let it bubble for just 5 seconds while stirring then immediately transfer it to a clean bowl. NOTE: you can pass it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any curdled egg pieces if you are so inclined. Add butter and stir it in until melted and evenly incorporated. If you’re using vanilla extract instead of the pod, then you can stir it in at this point. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the surface of the custard to cover it and refrigerate for at least 4 hours until thoroughly chilled.
5. Make the cupcake batter. Sift flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly.
6. Combine soft butter with sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer for about 3 minutes on medium-high speed until pale, light and fluffy. Add one egg and beat until well incorporated. Add the other egg and beat until evenly combined, smooth and creamy.
7. Whisk together milk and oil in a volumetric measuring jug or a small bowl.
8. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on medium-low speed until mostly incorporated. Add half of the milk mixture and beat until well blended, 10-15 seconds. Beat in half of the remaining flour mixture followed by the last of the milk mixture on medium speed just until the batter is smooth, but do not over beat. Finally, add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat for 5 seconds to emulsify the batter.
9. Divide the batter among prepared muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full and bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring individually to the rack to cool completely.
10. Fill the cupcakes. Using a sharp paring knife, cut out a small cone in the center of each cooled cupcake, being careful not to cut too deep (cut just to the center of the cupcake). Snack on the cut-outs.
11. Spoon the custard into the center to fill the well of each cupcake and then spoon another dollop of custard over the tops, dividing it evenly among them. Use a small off-set spatula to spread the custard to the edges. Place cupcakes on a baking sheet and refrigerate until custard is firm and the surface has dried out a bit, about 15 minutes. Gently dip the tops in coarse/raw sugar, and then flame with a kitchen torch until caramelized. Don’t be alarmed if you torch the paper liners a bit because I do it all the time and it’s kinda fun – the singed edges add character. Let the sugar harden and serve immediately. If the cupcakes sit for too long before they are served, the hard sugar layer will become soft as it dissolves into the custard, but it will still have an incredibly complex burnt sugar flavor.

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