Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

When you have a hankering for lemon meringue pie, but all of your plates and forks are in the dishwasher, this is just the ticket! This robust cupcake perfectly nestles the lemon curd (which is so tart and flavorful it’ll make your tongue curl), and you can go crazy loading these up with a ton of sweet and fluffy meringue. 

Ingredients

Cupcake

• 1-1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup White Sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 tsp. Lemon Juice
• 1 Large Egg
• 1/2 cup Water

Lemon Curd

• 6 tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 1/2 cup White Sugar
• 6 Large Egg Yolks
• 4 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

Meringue Frosting

• 1-1/2 cup White Sugar
• 3/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
• 1-1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 6 Large Egg Whites

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cupcake liners.
3. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and combine. Set aside.
4. Add the milk, vegetable oil, lemon juice, and egg to a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
6. Slowly add the water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined.
7. Beat for an additional two minutes on medium speed.
8. Fill the cupcake liners evenly and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and transfer to a baking rack to cool.
10. To make the lemon curd, separate six eggs, reserving the whites for the meringue.
11. Combine lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, and butter in a double boiler. Heat while gently whisking until mixture thickens and reaches 160 degrees, coating the back of a spoon. (Be patient and vigilant. This takes a while, but just when you think it will never firm up, it goes from soupy to thickened in a heartbeat!)
12. Pour the lemon curd into a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed against the top of the curd to prevent a film from forming. Refrigerate until completely cool and firm, at least 2 hours. (If you want to speed things up, you can put the bowl in a bath of ice water, too.)
13. Wait until the curd has cooled to make the meringue frosting.
14. To make the meringue, combine the sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla extract and egg whites in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water.
15. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and egg whites are warm, to about 140 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.
16. Beat the egg white mixture on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.
17. To assemble, use a cupcake corer to make a hole in the center of each cupcake. (Enjoy snacking on the cupcake middles while you do the rest!)
18. Pipe the lemon curd into the center of each cupcake.
19. Pipe the meringue frosting onto the top of the cupcakes.
20. Toast the meringue lightly with a kitchen torch. (Be careful not to torch the paper cupcake liners! They are surprisingly flammable.)
21. Refrigerate cupcakes until ready to serve.