Recipe

Creme Brûlée Cupcakes You Can Make on Any Budget

By Isabella Martin at University of Chicago

If you're lazy but still want to impress your friends with your baking skills, these are the cupcakes for you. Using boxed cake mix AND boxed pudding mix featuring some extra spices, these cupcakes are topped off with homemade vanilla frosting and a small piece of 'brûlée,' which is actually just sugar and water. If you get the frosting right, no one will be able to tell the difference between boxed and baked.

#SpoonTip: No creme brûlée is complete without some crystallized sugar. However, since I'm 1) too broke for a "kitchen blow torch" and 2) they are apparently not allowed in the dorms, we'll be making "stovetop crystals."

Creme Brûlée Cupcakes

Prep Time: 40 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins
Servings: 24

Ingredients

1 box vanilla cake mix
1 box vanilla pudding
2 eggs
2 and 3/4 sticks unsalted butter softened
1 and 1/2 cups water
2 and 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup granulated sugar
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 dash salt

Austin Lai

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350˚F and get ready to make your cupcakes. Using a whisk, beat your two eggs into a scramble.

Austin Lai

Step 2

Add 3/4 cup of butter and continue whisking. The recipe on the cake box probably asks for oil instead of butter, but butter will give the cupcakes a richer taste.

#SpoonTip: To get the perfect texture, microwave the butter until about 1/3 of it is melted.

Austin Lai

Step 3

Add 1 and 1/4 cups of water to the mixture. Carefully add in the cake mix and try to whisk without creating a mess.

#SpoonTip: If you tragically lose some mix in the whisking process, add a bit of flour and powdered sugar to make up for it.

Austin Lai

Step 4

I know the cake mix probably says 'vanilla,' but that vanilla could definitely use some help. If you want to make these cupcakes extra creme-brûlée-ish, add a capful of vanilla (~1/2 tsp) to the batter. Pour the batter into lined cupcake tins and bake for around 25 minutes.

Austin Lai

Step 5

While the cupcakes are baking, we can start the "creme." By creme, I mean "enhanced" store-bought pudding mix. In a new bowl, add 2 cups of milk to the mix and start whisking!

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Step 6

Warning: You're going to be whisking for about 5 minutes. Whisk until the pudding becomes "gloopy" (this is the best word I can think of). Once firm, add another cap full of vanilla (~1/2 tsp) and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir, cover, and put in the refrigerator.

Austin Lai

Step 7

In a small saucepan on medium heat, combine 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water. Stir once and then let boil. Let it bubble for ~4 min before pouring it out on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet, and pop that sheet into the freezer.

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Step 8

Now it's time to make the frosting. Cream 2 sticks of softened butter with 3-4 cups of powdered sugar. When it becomes too difficult to stir, add some milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add up to 1/4 cup of milk to get a texture you're happy with.

Austin Lai

Step 9

Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon. As you can see, I was very liberal with the cinnamon. Set aside.

Austin Lai

Step 10

Get your pudding out of the fridge and get ready to fill the cupcakes. Using a small knife, cut out a small hole in each cupcake.

Austin Lai

Step 11

Using your fingers, pop out this little bit of cake. Eat them now, or save them to combine with some leftover frosting to make cake balls.

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Step 12

Spoon a little bit (~ 1 tsp) of pudding into each hole.

#SpoonTip: If you're piping on your frosting with a bag, don't worry if some pudding is sticking out. If you're spreading your frosting with a knife, however, try to scrape the excess pudding back into the bowl.

Austin Lai

Step 13

Take the (hopefully frozen) brûlée out of the fridge and "crack" it using a hard object. Frost the cupcakes however you want, and stick 1 shard in each cupcake.

Austin Lai