Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I made my sister’s favorite cupcakes (peanut butter and jam), and wanted to make my mom’s favorite too. Therefore, I made a cupcake I have never made before: lemon meringue. I love, love trying new recipes. It was great, because my mom and sister watched Alex, so I could really have a couple of hours in the kitchen to try this recipe, which was somewhat time consuming.

Lemon Curd

Note: You should make the lemon curd first, so it has plenty of time to cool.

INGREDIENTS

6 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (I used about the equivalent of two very large lemons)

½ cup of sugar

4 large egg yolks (note: the cupcake recipe requires one egg white, and the meringue frosting requires 3 egg whites, so make sure you save the egg whites for those portions)

Pinch of salt

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 teaspoons of finely grated lemon zest (I used the zest from the two large lemons from before)

DIRECTIONS

1.       In a double boiler (or, in my case, a skillet filled with water and a glass bowl set into the water), whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, and salt.

2.       Cook the mixture over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until the curd is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (approximately five to eight minutes); do not let the curd boil, as it will turn lumpy.

3.       Once thickened, remove from heat and add in the lemon zest.

4.       Refrigerate until chilled and set (at least one hour, or for up to three days).

5.     Use with the vanilla cupcake recipe (see below). 

 Vanilla Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon of baking powder

¼ teaspoon of salt

¾ cup of sugar (I usually add just a touch more than this)

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter (I warmed in the microwave until just soft, not melted)

1 large egg

1 large egg white

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

½ cup of whole milk

DIRECTIONS

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.       Combine all of the ingredients above and mix together (note: the recipe in my book is slightly different than what I do, as I put everything into my KitchenAid mixer and mix on slow, then medium, then high speed—mix until no flour traces remain).

3.        Once mixed, divide the batter evenly among 12 muffin cups (or a greased muffin pan); fill each about three-fourths full.

4.       Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

5.       Once the cupcakes come out, let cool for about 15 minutes, then pipe the lemon curd in the center. I also piped the lemon curd onto the top of the cupcake, and let it run over the sides of the cupcake, which was pretty, but sticky.

6.       Frost with meringue (see below).

Meringue Frosting

INGREDIENTS

3 large egg whites

¾ cup of sugar

2 tablespoons of water

1 tablespoon of light corn syrup

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1.       In a double boiler (or, in my case, a skillet filled with water and a glass bowl set into the water), whisk together the egg whites, sugar, water, and corn syrup.  

2.       Cook the mixture over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch (about two minutes)

3.       Remove the bowl from the saucepan and use an electric mixer to beat on high speed until glossy and voluminous (about five minutes).

4.       Beat in the vanilla and use right away. 

I piped the frosting onto the cupcakes using a large star tip. 

I transferred the cupcakes (with frosting) to a baking pan and put into a pre-warmed oven (use the “broil” temp). The frosting/cupcakes only needed two minutes in the oven before they browned. You can also use a torch if you have one.