Some delicious cupcakes with tart lemon to cut the very sweet meringue, and an excuse to get out your blowtorch, which is always fun! I made these with my former ‘Summertime Cake Series’ partner, but his life has changed enough that we had to buy sugar and borrow a cupcake tin!

We found that this made enough cupcake batter that, to avoid overflowing, we put some extra in an 8×8, and that worked fine too. You can absolutely make your own lemon curd, but…not everyone has time for that!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 3 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 4 large egg whites
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• zest of 1 lemon

Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup sugar

To assemble:

• 1 10 ounce jar of lemon curd

To make the cupcakes, first preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line 2 cupcake tins with liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar while continuing to beat to medium peaks. (No, I’d never heard of medium peaks before either, but you can figure it out.) Set the egg whites aside.

peaky

In another large bowl, combine the 4 egg yolks, oil, water, vanilla, and zest. Beat until well combined.

Add the yolk mixture gradually to the dry ingredients, beating while you pour it in. Add enough of the yolk mixture until the dry goods form a paste, then stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl, before continuing to add the remaining yolk mixture. Beat another 2 minutes on medium speed.

Gently blend 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites.

Fill each cupcake paper 2/3-3/4 full. If you also feel like you’ll have too much, bake it separately too!

Bake for 20 minutes (checking any extra in a cake pan sooner if it is a thin layer), until the top springs back when gently touched. Let cool in the pans several minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool, or at least turn on their sides to let steam out from the bottoms. Cool before continuing.

To make the meringue buttercream, combine the egg whites and sugar in a clean bowl that can be used as the top of a double boiler. Stir until blended

Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmer water, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches 140 degrees. I didn’t have a candy thermometer, so just kept an eye on the sugar and guessed. Transfer the bowl to your stand mixer or a hotplate on the counter and beat on high speed until the meringue is thick, glossy, and reaches the stiff peak stage.

Using a piping bag full of lemon curd with a large plain tip (or a ziplock with the corner cut off and a funnel wedged through – we’re improvising!) insert the tip into the center of the cupcake and squeeze gently until you can just see a bit of curd around the tip. Repeat, filling each cupcake, and if needed stabbing curd into your separate cake as well.

Innovation!

Top with meringue, also using the piping bag, or just using a spoon as desired.

There was enough for the bare 4, but apparently some people can’t handle the sugar 😉 I want more of the Thai noodles in the back!

Toast lightly with a kitchen torch or under the broiler until golden brown to finish.

teamwork, dream work, etc

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Adapted from Unicorn Love, formerly CakeSpy.

Cupcakes:

• 3 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 4 large egg whites
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• zest of 1 lemon

Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup sugar

To assemble:

• 1 10 ounce jar of lemon curd

To make the cupcakes, first preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line 2 cupcake tins with liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar while continuing to beat to medium peaks. Set the egg whites aside.

In another large bowl, combine the 4 egg yolks, oil, water, vanilla, and zest. Beat until well combined, then add gradually to the dry ingredients, beating while you pour it in. Add enough of the yolk mixture until the dry goods form a paste, then stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl, before continuing to add the remaining yolk mixture. Beat another 2 minutes on medium speed. Gently blend 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Fill each cupcake paper 2/3-3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched. Let cool in the pans several minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool, or at least turn on their sides to let steam out from the bottoms. Cool before continuing.

To make the meringue buttercream, combine the egg whites and sugar in a clean bowl that can be used as the top of a double boiler. Stir until blended, then place the bowl over a saucepan of simmer water, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches 140 degrees. I didn’t have a candy thermometer, so just kept an eye on the sugar and guessed. Transfer the bowl to your stand mixer or a hotplate on the counter and beat on high speed until the meringue is thick, glossy, and reaches the stiff peak stage.

Using a piping bag full of lemon curd with a large plain tip insert the tip into the center of the cupcake and squeeze gently until you can just see a bit of curd around the tip. Repeat, filling each cupcake. Top with meringue, also using the piping bag, or just using a spoon as desired. Toast lightly with a kitchen torch or under the broiler until golden brown to finish.