I ask the girl what flavour of cupcakes she would like for her family birthday party.... She looks at me and thinks a bit, then finally comes up with Lemon Meringue Cupcakes!!??
Of course I agree to make them. But what is a Lemon Meringue Cupcake?
This is my version of a Lemon Meringue Cupcake - turns out it was PERFECT! Not only by her standards, but everyone there!!!
To start, need to make the cupcakes.... Cream butter and Sugar until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time... Mixing well in between.
Add vanilla and lemon zest.
Add flour and milk alternating -- starting with flour and ending with flour...
Fill prepared cupcake pans.
While the cupcakes bake, make the lemon curd. Start by juicing the lemons.
I started getting too many seeds in, so I strained it.
Into a double boiler (or a mixer bowl on top of boiling water) mix the eggs and lemon. Stirring constantly for 10 mins. It gradually gets thicker and thicker.
Strain the lemon curd into a bowl. Add butter and stir until butter has melted. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge.
Next step -- the meringue. While cupcakes are baking and the lemon curd is cooling... Beat egg whites, vanilla, cream of tarter and corn starch.
Beat until they look like this... (I think)
One idea was to make circles on the underside of the parchment paper in order to have the perfect meringue... I have to admit, this was my first meringue experience so the circles did not help me. I started to shape them, then stopped after my fingers were ooey gooey. The ones I did shape were much better then the ones I didn't. So moral of that story, take the time to make them pretty before they bake.
Baked meringues....
Now that everything is done and cooled, time to put them together.
Cut little wells out of the top of the cupcakes. Fill them up with the lemon curd. Then top with the meringue - and viola, done!
So, this is my version of Lemon Meringue Cupcakes.
Recipes....
Vanilla Cupcakes:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 17 - 20 minutes or just until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. (Do not over bake or the cupcakes will be dry.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. If you want flat topped cupcakes then slice off the dome of each cupcake, with a sharp knife, before frosting. If you want to pipe the frosting, I like to use a large Wilton 1M star decorating tip. Cupcakes are best eaten the same day they are made, but they can be covered and stored for a few days.
Lemon Curd:
3 large eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon zest
3/4 cup white sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small pieces
In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate until cold. The lemon curd can be made several days (up to a week) in advance.
Meringue:
Beat on high until stiff peaks form (about 3-4 minutes):
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp vanilla
pinch cornstarch
Add in a continuous stream, beating on high all the while:
1/2 c sugar
On a piece of parchment, use a cupcake liner as a stencil to draw 12 circles. Flip liner so the drawing is face down (in contact with the cookie sheet), then spoon 1/12 of the meringue into each area.
Wash your hands thoroughly. Use the circles as a guide for what the meringues should be sized, then using a finger, swipe around the glob of meringue to give it a shape. You’ll have to play around with this, as it will be slightly different for everyone, but what works for me is to pat down the meringue to roughly the intended size, then swipe around with a damp finger to make it as circular as possible. Then I spiral inward, and once at the center, lift finger to create a peak.
Bake at 350o for 15 minutes. Do not open the oven while baking, unless you smell something burning or something. Remove from oven to wire rack, let cool 1 minute, then with a metal spatula, pop each meringue from the parchment so it does not stick there while it cools completely (which you must do before moving onto the next step).
Mix them all together and you have Lemon Meringue Cupakes.
ENJOY!
