Creme Brulee Cupcakes
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!
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Peppermint for sure
Love all things pumpkin this time of year!
ralphlucy at comcast.net
The richness of eggnog is one of my fave parts of the holiday season
jlynch6341@aol.com
I can’t decide if it’s peppermint or pumpkin! Oooh or egg nog!
yet another choc/peppermint combination to tempt me. Oh my! These look lovely! Peppermint is Christmas to me!
I tweeted too! breit85@gmail.com
love,
cathy b. @ brightbakes
I looooooooooooooooooooooove chocolate and peppermint. Especially when the chocolate is hot and the peppermint is liquor. Or any other way, really.
Oh I love Pumpkin and Peppermint! Two things my husband hates!
Apple Cider!! I drink it all winter long.
smartash1218@yahoo.com
Definately chocolate and peppermint or anything heavy on the cinnamon and nutmeg! Too bad I can’t win these liners with your cupcakes already in them! They look wonderful!
I <3 peppermint, it's a guilty pleasure. Also that I get to overeat gingerbread. That's where i pudge at the holidays, with Gingerbread flavor. its decadent and delicous.
Also: my word verification is redip. which entertains me.
I love the chocolate/peppermint combo.
My favorite holiday sweet is gingerbread cookies. rhisomers(at)gmail(dot)com
I tweeted it. and bragged you up.
So weird that it came out so thin for you! Maybe I should’ve specified what size can? Whoops. Anyway, I used a 14 ounce can and it came out pretty thick. Weird. I’m going to update my recipe with size now. 😉
The cupcakes look great anyway! 🙂
Okay, ignore me. Apparently I only used 3/4 of a cup of the condensed milk. Seriously, the cold weather is messing with my head.
I love chocolate and coconut this time of year. oh and of course marshmallow!
goorsky at g mail dot com
I agree – I love chocolate and peppermint this time of year. And your idea to fill the cupcakes w/peppermint and top w/chocolate ganache sounds amazing! But really who minds a bit of a mess when eating something so tasty?
Just tweeted
yum, these look delicious. i love homemade eggnog this time of year:)
Chocolate and Peppermint is a classic xmas combo that I just love.
ive been drinking peppermint mocha lattes like they’re going out of style. definitely a favorite combo! I love gingerbread this time of year too!
I love my Grandma’s almond puff 🙂 Soooo yummy
I’m lovin’ everything almond! Banket is a holiday staple at our house & I can’t get enough almond paste!
I’m partial to peppermint, especially those Andes Peppermint Chocolates. They’re like crack.
sarah(dot)chverchko(at)gmail(dot)com
Anything chocolate!
my fav is peppermint! i love candycanes and mint choc! 🙂
mandaala.blogspot.com
any kind dessert that looks “Christmas-y” is on my list!
I am in complete agreement- chocolate-peppermint is my favorite!!!
My favorite holiday flavor: Rum. Rum in Truffles, rum in eggnog, Rum in banana muffins, rum in pineapple upside down cakes…..yup, rum. 🙂
peppermint and chocolate is one of my favorite holiday flavors, but you know I have to remain loyal to pumpkin!
those look so good! peppermint is by far my fave holiday flavor!
but really also love buttery goodness in cookies. hmmm.
ctcupcake8@yahoo.com
GREAT!!!! hugs, Flavia
Peppermint (ideally with chocolate)!
Those look amazing!
I love mint chocolate and for the holidays put amaretto in EVERYTHING.
I am kind of peppermint obsessed so I absolutely love your cupcakes. Not to mention a peppermint patty frosting just sounds like pure bliss!
xo
ps I am your newest follower
Molasses. Or coconut. And butter. Those are the dominant flavors in three of my favorite holiday cookies. nsp429@gmail.com
I’m also on the peppermint bandwagon!
Chocolate and peppermint defo!
shelly8806@hotmail.com
I didn’t used to love the whole chocolate peppermint combo until I made an amazing cake from Bon Appetit last year. Now I’m hooked. I just ate a peppermint chocolate cookie for lunch today.
Those wrappers are so cute!
Pumpkin for sure. I love my pumpkin choc chip muffins! sunshine4342 at juno dot com
Yum! I am all about mint, and so is my bf.
PUMPKIN PUMPKIN PUMPKIN!!! Can’t get enough!
chocomuncher88 @ yahoo . com
Peppermint and gingerbread. YUM!
cmerrey at gmail dot com
My favorite flavor would have to be Egg Nog, or Peppermint :)!
meggie_sue@woh.rr.com
Peppermint for sure!!!
Silly I know but I love Fruitcake in all its yummy, rummy goodness.
Love eggnog! And mulled cider.
– Amanda
I love peppermint and pumpkin best! 🙂
Cinnamon!
Peppermint is definitely my fave! cnahorvath@yahoo.com
my favorite holiday flavor is eggnog. I think I could eat or drink about anything with eggnog
Pumpkin pie spice 🙂 … in everything from homemade pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin bread! My fav!
Peppermint for me! These cupcakes look delicious…love the baking liners!
It’s a toss up between pumpkin and chocolate/peppermint.
phjones21@yahoo.com
These cupcakes look awesome! They are so pretty 🙂
Such a fun giveaway too. My favorite holiday flavors are ginger and molasses….yum!
Eggnog for sure!!! I just made Eggnog cookies that are actually TOO good….I can’t stay away!
I love simple molasses cookies! Molasses is one of my favorite things this time of year=)
I am SO with you on the chocolate/mint combo! Beyond delicious! I always make some peppermint biscotti at this time of year – yum! : )
love the combo of peppermint and chocolate. also love KA flour – use it all the time.
jacquieastemborski AT comcast DOT net
Well they look delicious! But I can see the pain of the ooziness!
Peppermint and chocolate is my favorite!
I love sweet things – especially egg nog!
Peppermint – I get addicted to peppermint mochas this time of year.
Mint chocolate! Yum!!
Cranberry! I think this started when we were giving our ‘grown up’ drink for Christmas Eve dinner. The real adults had wine and we had cran-raspberry juice for the kids version.
jfalksen at gmail dot com
As always, your post makes me want to lick my computer screen! I made your Snickerdoodle brownies the other day and I ate just about the whole pan. By myself. Need to give away the rest and then make them again because they made my apt smell AMAZING!
chocolate and mint, yum!
ljyoung85 at gmail.com
Coconut is my favorite! I put in mostly everything I bake during this time of year.
I love sweet things at this time of year. Especially the peppermint bark or candy cane hershey kisses.
I love anything eggnog flavored, especially baked goods. Mint is a good one too.
Peppermint hot chocolate! Or caramel…or pumpkin….
ooh, for the holidays i’d have to go with eggnog or peppermint!
I love peppermint! Can’t get enough of it this time of year!
My favorite holiday flavor has to be molasses. We have a family cookie recipe involving molasses that never gets old!
Almond flavoring goes into several of our cookies- including the candy cane cookies. The combo of almond with mint makes for a great cookie!! Eggnog and chex mix add to this yummy Christmas Eve combination.
My favorite holiday flavor is sweet – the chocolate-peppermint combo, mmm!
Vanilla (as in the icing on my mother-in-law’s fabulously delicious sugar cookies). Mmmm….
Chocolate is my favorite flavor year round!
I’m not sure if I have a favorite holiday flavor… I’ve been sitting here thinking about it for a few minutes. Mint perhaps? But not in excessive amounts.
My favorite holiday flavor is really my favorite year round flavor — cinnamon! I love cinnamon anything.
Hood Golden Egg Nog – yum!
Egg nog. I discovered Silk Egg Nog flavor as well as the See’s egg nog truffle this year. So happy.
amazing! can’t wait to bake them!
I love anything that is baked with eggnog! This year I’m thinking I might have to try to make eggnog truffles! YUM!
bbscabral@gmail.com
Peppermint and chocolate used to be my favorite flavor combo, but lately it’s become chili pepper and chocolate. I love the juxtaposition of spicy and sweet!
Pumpkin for Thanksgiving-time, eggnog for Christmas-time. I always forget how much I love eggnog until the time is here! 🙂
pumpkin bread! hbhalsod@gmail.com
I worship KAF. I mean WORSHIP! So I would love to win this one. My fave flavour combo for the holidays is probably chocolate and mint too, but I am really into gingerbread these days.