1-Preheat and prepare muffin pan: preheating your oven to 350°F and lining a muffin pan with paper liners to avoid any sticking issues.

2-Prepare the pastry cream: Combine sugar, cornstarch, flour, cream, milk, egg yolks, and scraped vanilla bean seeds and pod in a pan, then cook over medium-low heat while whisking constantly until it thickens. Once done, transfer it to a bowl, add butter and vanilla extract if needed, cover with plastic wrap, and chill it in the fridge.

3-Sift dry ingredients: sift together 1 ¼ cups (180g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon (3g) cornstarch, 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt to get that light batter.

4-Cream butter and sugar: Cream 6 tablespoons (84g) softened unsalted butter with ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar and 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract until it’s pale and fluffy this step makes the cupcakes tender, so mix for a few minutes on medium speed.

5-Add eggs: Add 2 large eggs one at a time, blending well after each to keep the mixture smooth.

6-Whisk milk and oil and alternate with flour: Then, whisk ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (95ml) whole milk with 1 tablespoon (15ml) sunflower oil separately before alternating it with the sifted flour mix into the butter base. Go slow: add one-third flour, half milk mix, half flour, the rest of the milk, and finally the remaining flour, mixing on medium-low until just combined.

7-Emulsify batter and bake: Finish by mixing on high speed for 5 seconds to emulsify the batter, then divide it into muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean, cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and move to a wire rack.

8-Fill and caramelize cupcakes: Once cooled, cut a hole in each cupcake, fill with pastry cream, add a top layer, chill for 15 minutes, dip in ½ cup (100g) coarse sugar, and caramelize with a kitchen torch.