Creme Brulee Cupcakes

Thursday, April 16, 2009

For Hubby’s birthday, I told him I’d make a treat for him to take in to work. As I’ve mentioned before, his favorite dessert is creme brulee. I’ve made it twice for him already. But, creme brulee doesn’t travel to work very well. So instead, I gave him a list of 10 desserts that are at the top of my must-bake list.

When I added this recipe as the last option for him, I knew there was no point in even giving him the list. Sure enough, he chose his favorite dessert in cupcake form for his birthday treat.

I have to admit that I’m very glad he chose this recipe, because it’s amazing. The cupcakes really do taste like creme brulee. I made the cupcakes and frosting the night before his birthday and then we torched them in the morning before heading to work. Hubby said they only lasted about 10 minutes in the kitchen at work.

The other great thing about these cupcakes is that I found my new favorite way to frost a cupcake. I just loved how the cupcakes looked with a good portion of the cake peaking out, but there still being plenty of frosting. I decided at that point that I will be frosting cupcakes like this again (as I did for my Red Velvet cupcakes).

As a side note, for those of you who know, Hubby’s birthday is in February. This post is going up in April. I tend to do this unless there is a deadline for a blogging event. When I make something to be blogged, I add the pictures, recipe and link to the original source, then save it as a draft. Then on some random day, I go back and finish up the post and set it to publish at some point in the future. So on an evening like tonight, I can bust out about 10 posts while Hubby plays video games with his buddy. Then if I don’t have time to write blog posts for another month, it’s ok.

Creme Brulee Cupcakes – Adapted from Clara, originally from How to Eat a Cupcake
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch for the egg whites
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk – I used 1/4 c water + 3/4 c heavy cream
3 tablespoons caramel syrup – I used Smuckers ice cream topping
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternately beat in dry ingredients and milk.

Add caramel syrup and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. Gently fold whites into batter.

Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.

Brown sugar swiss meringue buttercream
1 cup light brown sugar
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Put sugar, egg whites and salt into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees). Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes total.

Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and continue beating 1 minute to reduce air bubbles.

To assemble cupcakes
Remove center of cupcake using the cone method. Fill cupcake with buttercream. Sprinkle brown sugar on top and caramelize with creme brulee torch.

I’m entering this in Joelen’s Tasty Tools event for April. She’s featuring muffin pans this month!

Cupcakes, Dessert, Family Favorites

27 comments »

33 Responses to “Crockpot Pulled Pork”

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1

Taylor — March 24, 2009 at 3:03 pm

I don’t really like pork, but you make it looks so good! 🙂

Happy 250th post. <3

[http://dlishfoods.wordpress.com]
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2

Jen — March 24, 2009 at 3:09 pm

Thanks Taylor! This really is an amazing pulled pork recipe if you are ever in the mood for pork.
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Mermaid Sweets — March 24, 2009 at 3:56 pm

I really need a crock pot – this looks great and I am bookmarking it for when I do get one, my husband loves pulled pork sandwiches.
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4

Ashley — March 25, 2009 at 12:15 am

This looks awesome! I love making pulled pork in the crockpot 🙂
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Stephanie — March 25, 2009 at 2:27 am

This looks great! I have been in search of a good pulled pork recipe.

Happy 250th post!
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Kerstin — March 25, 2009 at 3:15 am

I love all the spices you used on the pork – it looks so tender and yummy! Congrats on 250 posts!
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Ashley — June 12, 2009 at 12:31 pm

Hey Jen, this is Ashley (formerly) from Performance in Evendale! I found your blog through some others and I love it …. we tried this recipe last night and it. was. amazing. Thank you! Your kitchen is going to be gorgeous, can’t wait to see the final pictures.
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Katrina — June 14, 2009 at 1:41 pm

Hi! I made your recipe last night for my extended family. They RAVED about it! I posted a link back to this post. Thanks again!
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Jen — July 1, 2009 at 8:07 pm

Hey Ashley! I always get a kick out of when people I know in real life find my blog. We LOVE this recipe.
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michelle — October 5, 2009 at 3:09 pm

Well, 6 months later, I come upon your recipe through Google and it is amazing!! I served this up to some dinner guests and we all loved it!! It IS the best pulled pork recipe and I thank you for leaving it here for me to find!
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nupike — February 1, 2010 at 7:13 pm

We tried this recipe over the weekend (with a couple of minor tweaks) and it came out great!

Thanks for posting.
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alamodestuff — February 6, 2010 at 6:07 pm

This is our new favorite pulled pork recipe! Thanks for posting it!
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Joshua and Stacie — March 6, 2010 at 1:23 am

About how many did this serve?
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Jen — March 7, 2010 at 4:29 am

Joshua and Stacie – the recipe says it serves 6, but I’d say it serves more like 8.
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Nichole — August 10, 2010 at 6:42 pm

thanks for the recipe. I’ve been searching for a good one.
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Anonymous — October 18, 2012 at 2:19 am

This was a great recipe! It was my first pork roast, and it was so easy. My 7 lb roast was fork tender in 8 hours.
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MK — June 1, 2013 at 6:40 pm
Started this the other day and had it in the crockpot all day today. So delicious. Very satisfied husband. Thanks for posting this!
- beantownbaker — June 10th, 2013 @ 12:33 pm
  
  So glad your husband enjoyed this. This recipe is in our regular rotation.
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nonniz — July 4, 2013 at 10:52 am
Love this recipe. Have used it many times and it always gets rave reviews. Making it again this weekend.
- beantownbaker — July 4th, 2013 @ 1:44 pm
  
  Glad you enjoy it! We love it too and make it on a regular weekend. Especially since it freezes so well!
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Lauretta Dane — August 22, 2013 at 10:12 am
What Barbeque sauce did you prefer. There are so many different flavors out there these days?
- beantownbaker — August 22nd, 2013 @ 11:16 am
  
  I actually make my own BBQ sauce, but any flavor that you prefer works in this recipe.
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Stephanie Walsh — October 10, 2013 at 9:41 pm
Only complaint from people when I made this was…”Why didn’t you make more??!?!” Love Love Love this recipe!
Thanks for publishing!
- beantownbaker — October 23rd, 2013 @ 12:25 am
  
  I get that a lot too! So glad you enjoyed it!!
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Val — October 21, 2013 at 6:36 pm
This recipe is awesome!!! I have only made pulled pork a few times but was never a huge fan as I found them to be too BBQ sauce flavored! I saw this recipe on pinterest and decided to try it tonight for dinner! OMG it is FANTBULOUS!!!!!! I love the rb idea and honestly I could have done without the BBQ sauce as the drippings and sauce in the pot was amazing with the pork on its own! I did add the bq sauce however and was still quite impressed! This recipe had changed my whole opinion of pulled pork! Kudos on a great spice rub blend!!!
- beantownbaker — October 23rd, 2013 @ 12:28 am
  
  So glad I was able to convert you to a pulled pork fan! I actually have a batch of this cooking in the crockpot as I type. It’s going to cook overnight for my sister and her husband since they’re new parents and it freezes so well.
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Brooke — October 22, 2013 at 12:21 am
This is the easiest and I’m sure tastiest recipe I’ve ever found. I just rubbed all the spices on the pork and it’s marinating in the fridge right now…. I will cook it tomorrow morning I’m very excited about serving this to my family. I’ll come back and post how it was!
- beantownbaker — October 23rd, 2013 @ 12:29 am
  
  I’ve got a batch cooking in the crockpot right now! I hope you and your family enjoy it.
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Brigette — December 12, 2013 at 10:37 pm
I tried this tonight and OMG it was delicious! That rub really makes it. I couldn’t let it sit in the fridge for days but it was still amazing. I will definitely be making this again.
- beantownbaker — December 17th, 2013 @ 10:55 am
  
  So glad you enjoyed it! We really love this recipe and make it all the time.
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Mary — July 3, 2015 at 12:56 pm

Hi. I am making this as we speak for tomorrow. My only concern the spices seem a little over powering. When I opened the crockpot to check on it it seemed very spicey. Is that what you experience?
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Robin — January 17, 2016 at 11:41 am

This is one of the best crockpot pork recipes ever! I use Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce or make my own secret barbecue sauce. Either way it is the best. We also use the rub when my husband cooks a shoulder on the grill. Great find – thanks!
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Jen Brothers — February 15, 2016 at 7:48 am

Sounds delish! What brand and flavor bbq sauce did you use, exactly?