Crème Brûlée cupcakes

Are you a fan of the classic French dessert crème brûlée? Then you’re going to love these cupcakes filled with silky vanilla pastry cream and topped with a crisp caramelised sugar crust. “Delicious” hardly does them justice! Each cupcake is filled with crème pâtissière, topped with even more of the creamy filling, then finished with a crunchy caramel topping just before serving. They’re especially lovely served with fresh berries.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients for cupcakes:

• 160 g butter
• 120 g caster sugar
• 180 g plain flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or the seeds from 1 vanilla pod
• 3 tablespoons milk

All the ingredients should be at room temperature.

Beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla bean paste. Sift the flour and baking powder directly into the bowl, then gently fold everything together with a spatula or whisk until just combined. Finally, stir in the milk.

Line a standard 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases and divide the batter evenly between them, filling each case about three-quarters full.

Bake at 170°C for about 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Ingredients for vanilla pastry cream (crème pâtissière):

• 600 ml milk
• seeds from 1 vanilla pod
• 6 large egg yolks
• 100 g caster sugar
• 40 g plain flour
• 40 g potato starch

Heat the milk with the vanilla seeds in a large saucepan until it just comes to the boil. Remove from the heat immediately.

In the bowl of a mixer, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Add the flour and potato starch and continue whisking until smooth. Gradually whisk 100 ml of the hot milk into the egg mixture to temper it.

Pour the tempered mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk and whisk until combined. Return the pan to a medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to the boil. Once boiling, continue cooking for about 1 minute, stirring continuously, until the pastry cream has thickened. Remove from the heat.

Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cover the surface directly with cling film to prevent a skin from forming. Leave to cool completely without stirring.

The prepared crème pâtissière can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To finish:

• ½ cup soft brown sugar (or caster sugar)

Using a small knife or teaspoon, cut a small well into the centre of each cooled cupcake to about halfway down. Fill each well with the vanilla pastry cream. Spread more pastry cream over the top of each cupcake, dividing it evenly between all 12.

Place the sugar in a shallow bowl. Dip the cream-topped cupcakes into the sugar so that it adheres to the pastry cream. Caramelise the sugar using a kitchen blowtorch (recommended) or, alternatively, place the cupcakes briefly under a hot grill for a few seconds, watching carefully to prevent the sugar from burning. Serve immediately, ideally with fresh berries.

Important: Coat the cupcakes with sugar and caramelise them just before serving. If done too far in advance, the caramelised sugar will soften and dissolve.

Enjoy!