When you think of lemon meringue, I bet you firstly think of the pie. But have you ever had it as a cupcake?
Lemon meringue cupcakes are a sweet spin-off to the lemon meringue pie. And taste so delicious.
These cupcakes are great for when you have guests, a dessert with a scoop of ice cream, or to have on hand when you want to have one for morning tea.
How Do You Make The Cupcake Base For Lemon Meringue Cupcakes?
To make things super easy for you to make these, I have used my Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes recipe as the main base.
There is one difference, though, when you add the final ingredients, you also need to add two teaspoons of ground lemon rind.
By doing this, it turns them into Lemon Cupcakes, which is excellent just on their own, if you want lemon flavoured cupcakes.
How Do You Make The Lemon Filling?
The lemon filling, also known as lemon curd, is super easy to make.
And it is not overpowering with the lemon taste either. It is excellent for those that do not like the over the top tangy taste.
However, if you like to have your lemon curd tangy, you can add two teaspoons of finely grated lemon zest to the curd.
Add this when you add all the ingredients to the saucepan at the start, before cooking.
Ingredients for the lemon curd:
- 1 egg yolk
- 50 g butter
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind (optional)
How To Make A Hole In The Lemon Meringue Cupcakes.
Cupcake Corer
There are two ways you can do this. The easiest way is to use a cupcake corer. You can get these from any supermarket or online from amazon or baking supply places.
I use a cupcake corer and found it quicker and less messy to do.
To use this tool, all you need to do is place the corer on the top of the cupcake in the middle. Gently press down and twist. Pull the corer straight up and the middle of the cupcake will be inside the corer. Just like coring and apple.
Serrated Knife
If you do not have a cupcake corer, another option is to use a small serrated knife to hollow out the cupcake.
Slowly cut a circle in the cupcake about 2 centimetres or ½ an inch down and use a small spoon to remove the centre.
The bonus to using a knife to do this is to make the holes in the cupcake centre wider than what a corer will. Allowing you to be able to add more of the filling inside.
Tips For Getting The Meringue Correct.
It would be best if you had your meringue at a consistency where you can pipe it on, but it will hold the shape after applying it.
Firstly, meringue is made with egg whites only, never the yolk.
You can whip them while they are cold, but it helps if they are room temp mainly as it will not take you as long to beat.
I find a stand mixer is best for that, and my KitchenAid has a high-speed setting that makes whipping egg whites a breeze.
But you do not need this; a hand mixer works just as well. Or if you are up for it, you can use a balloon whisk.
An important step, always to make sure the bowl you are using is clean and completely dry. Any water or anything else in the bowl can ruin your meringue.
Always whip your egg whites until soft peaks start to form. To test, take the mixer/whisk out of the bowl. If the peaks stand up and hold their shape, it is ready.
Once the egg white has hit this point, continue to beat while you slowly add in the sugar a little at a time. I find adding a spoonful at a time helps.
Beat until all sugar dissolves, and your whites form stiff peaks. Again left the beaters out, and if the peaks hold, you are good to go.
Another way to check if your meringue is ready is to tip the bowl on its side. If the meringue does not move, it is ready.
Do not beat any further, or you will overwhip your eggs, resulting in a dry, cottony texture instead of the smooth texture.
Your meringue should also have a gloss to it.
Remember, though, do not eat the meringue while it is uncooked. As the egg is raw, it can cause food poisoning due to the eggs containing a bacteria called Salmonella.
Ingredients for the meringue:
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup of caster sugar
How To Pipe Your Meringue Onto The Cupcakes?
If you are used to pipping butter icing onto your cakes and cupcakes, then you will have no issues doing this.
But if you are one that is still learning, or it’s your first time. Then you may have a few goes before you get it looking the way you want.
Using a wide pipping tip is excellent for adding the meringue. You can either do lovely high swirls using a round or an open star tip. Or you can use the star tip to do small stars over the top for something lower down.
What Can I Do If I Do Not Have A Culinary Torch?
A culinary torch is excellent to brown your meringue. But it’s not required. An alternative to this is to put your cupcakes back into the oven at 425°F (220°C ) fan-forced or 400°F (200°C) for a conventional for approximately further five minutes. Or until the meringue has that nice light brown tinge.
Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
- 125 g Unsalted Butter softened
- 1 cup Caster Sugar
- 2 Large eggs at room temp
- ¾ cup Milk full cream milk
- 2 cup Plain Flour all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 teaspoon Lemon rind finely grated
Lemon Curd
- 1 Large egg yolk lightly whisked
- 50 g Butter
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice
- ½ cup caster sugar
Meringue
- 4 Large egg whites at room temp
- 1 cup Caster sugar
Instructions
Lemon Cupcakes
- Follow the same method as my Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes, but in Step 6 where you add the baking powder, salt, and vanilla extract, also add the 2 teaspoons of lemon rind.
Lemon Curd
- While the cupcakes are cooking. Add the lightly whisked egg yolk, butter, lemon juice, sugar, and finely grated lemon rind (optional) to a small saucepan.
- Over medium-low heat combine all the ingredients and continuously stir for about 2 minutes, or until the butter has melted.
- Increase to medium heat and continue to stir until the mixture starts to boil and thicken slightly.
- Add the curd to a bowl and cover with cling wrap. Then place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 ½ hours. The curd will thicken more while chilling.
Adding The Curd To The Cupcakes
- Once the cupcakes are completely cooled and the curd has chilled you can start to add the curd to the cupcakes.
- Using a cupcake corer or a small serrated knife, cut a hole in the center of the cupcake. Spoon or pipe the lemon curd into the holes of each cupcake until it reaches the top.
Meringue
- In a clean, dry mixing bowl add the egg whites and beat until soft peaks start to form.
- Slowly add the caster sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time and beat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Once all the sugar is added, beat until stiff peaks form.
- Add the meringue to a piping bag with your desired piping tip and slowly pipe on the mergingue.
- Put the cupcakes in a pre-heated oven at 200°C (400°F) for conventional or 220°C (425°F) for fan-forced, for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the meringue is lightly browned. Or use a culinary torch to brown.
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