To make the pastry cream: Pour the milk, vanilla extract, and salt into a heavy saucepan and heat over medium-high, bringing the milk just to under a boil, stirring occasionally so the milk doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar and cornstarch.
When the milk is ready, slowly ladle about one-third into the eggs, whisking constantly. Pour the egg mixture back into the hot milk and continue whisking over medium heat until the custard is noticeably thicker, about 5 minutes.
To check the correct thickness of the cream, dip a wooden spoon into the custard, remove it and run your finger across it. It should leave a line where your finger crossed. When the custard is thick enough, remove it from the heat and strain it into a clean bowl.
Let cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cut the butter into 1 tablespoon pieces and whisk the butter into the cream, one piece at a time. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and press the wrap directly onto the surface of the cream. Once the cream is a little cooler, put it into the fridge to finish cooling. Pastry cream will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days.
To make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush the muffin pans with softened butter, dust with flour, and tap out the excess. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and butter in a saucepan and set over low heat until butter melts.
With an electric mixer on high speed, whisk eggs and sugar until fluffy, pale yellow, and thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and gradually add flour mixture until just mixed.
Bring milk and butter to a boil. With mixer on low speed, add hot milk to batter in a slow, steady stream. Mix until smooth and beat in vanilla.
Divide batter evenly among muffin pans (use a ladle or measuring cup to pour out the batter as it is very liquidy). They will be pretty shallow.
Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cupcakes are golden and a cake tester comes out clean, about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. If the cupcakes aren’t loose, then run a small knife around the edges of the pans to loosen cupcakes. Turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
To assemble: Use a serrated knife to gently split cupcakes in half horizontally. Stir or whisk the chilled pastry cream vigorously to loosen it up. Use a medium cookie scoop (about 1 ½ tablespoons) to distribute pastry cream among the bottom of the cupcake halves. Replace top halves and press down lightly to allow the pastry cream to spread out to the edges.
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