Crême Bruleé Cupcakes

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated; scrape down sides of bowl, and beat in vanilla.
3. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. After each addition mix until just incorporated. The final batter should be smooth with no streaks of flour or buttermilk, but don't over-mix! Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl.
4. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, and then remove the cupcakes from the tin and allow to fully cool on wire rack.

For the Pastry Cream:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in ¼ cup of the milk and set aside.
2. Combine the rest of the milk with sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
3. Whisk eggs into the milk/cornstarch mixture until smooth.
4. Temper the eggs by pouring 1/3 of the boiling milk into the egg mixture in a steady stream with one hand, while gently stirring with the other hand. When mixed together add the milk/eggs back to the saucepan with the rest of the milk.
5. Boil for one minute stirring constantly until mixture is thick, bubbly, and able to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
6. Remove from the heat and whisk in butter and vanilla.
7. Transfer to a cold container, press some plastic wrap directly on the cream and chill immediately.

To assemble:

1. Use a paring knife to cut a cone-shaped hole into the center of each cupcake. Use a spoon or piping bag to fill each cupcake with pastry cream, as well as frosting the top with a thick layer.
2. Sprinkle sugar all over the pastry cream, and use a kitchen torch to bruleé the sugar until it is golden and caramelized.
3. Serve immediately. (You can fill and frost them and keep the chilled until you are ready to bruleé the tops, but the sugar will melt and get soft if it sits for too long.)