Creme Brûlée Cupcakes

Creme Brûlée Cupcakes
(adapted from Cooking Classy)

Ingredients:
Pastry Cream Frosting:
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup skim milk
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
3 tbsp cornstarch
8 tbsp sugar, divided
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Cupcake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 + 2 tbsp sugar
2 egg whites
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup skim milk

Directions:
1. To make the pastry cream, in a medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, 6 tbsp sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Heat over medium heat until you just start to see bubbles.  Turn heat to medium-low.  While cream is warming up, in a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 2 tbsp of sugar and the cornstarch.  (Save 2 of the egg whites for the cupcake batter).  When cream mixture is warm, take about 1/2 cup and slowly pour it into the egg mixture while whisking.  Continue to whisk and pour the egg mixture into the cream mixture.  Whisk until cream thickens.  Turn off heat and whisk in the 1 tbsp of butter.  Pour pastry cream into a bowl and cover with saran wrap so that the saran wrap is pressed against the pastry cream.  Cool in fridge for 2-3 hours.
2. To make the cupcake batter, in a medium bowl whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  IN a large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg whites and egg, one at a time, until well combined.  Measure out the milk in a liquid measure cup and stir the vanilla into the milk.  Alternate adding the flour and milk to the butter/sugar starting with the flour and ending with the flour.  Beat until just combined.  Divide batter into 6 jumbo or 12 regular cupcake wells.  Bake at 350 for about 23 minutes.  Let cool completely.
3. To assemble cupcakes, spread the pastry cream over the tops of the cupcakes.  Sprinkle sugar on top and, using a kitchen torch, burn the sugar until it just starts to brown and harden.

Enjoy :)