Creme Brulee Mini Cupcakes

This weekend I hosted a bridal shower for my sister-in-law, Melissa. I made a variety of desserts including these cupcakes. They were a huge hit. I wasn't in love with them at first, but I think they're improving with age. They were a bit more dense than I thought they'd be based on the original recipe review, but that may be because the batter sat for so long as I used it all up. The recipe was easy to make. Only part that was overly time consuming was the actual baking, as I only have one decent 12-cup mini cupcake pan.

Creme Brulee Mini Cupcakes
Source: How To Eat A Cupcake

Yield: 60 mini cupcakes

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt, plus a pinch for the egg whites

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

3 Tbsp caramel syrup (ice cream topping)

1 tsp 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. In a separate bowl, 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 14 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

¼ tsp 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.

*See original recipe for baking times, etc. for regular-sized cupcakes.