Lemon Meringue Cupcakes Recipe

Course: cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 1

Servings: cupcakes

Calories: 326kcal

These moist cupcakes are filled with lemon curd and topped with a fluffy meringue.

1¾ cups all-purpose flour 210 grams
1 teaspoon baking powder 4 grams
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup vegetable oil 100 grams
⅔ cup granulated sugar 133 grams
2 large eggs 100 grams, room temperature
1 large egg yolk 14 grams, room temperature (reserve white for the meringue below)
⅓ cup milk 76 grams, room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice 57 grams, from 2 lemons
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 6 grams, from 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-count cupcake tin with paper liners and set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, eggs, milk, and lemon juice together. Add in the lemon zest and stir. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet just until incorporated.
1¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup vegetable oil, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 large egg yolk, ⅓ cup milk, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Fill each well of the prepared cupcake tin ¾ full of batter. Place the tin into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Once baked, remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes cool, make the filling: In a large saucepan, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together. Whisk in the water, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking the whole time. Once the mixture has boiled, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.
⅓ cup granulated sugar, 1½ tablespoons cornstarch, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, 9 tablespoons water, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Place the egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl, and whisk in half of the heated mixture. Once they are next and smooth, whisk the egg yolk mixture into the remaining heated mixture in the saucepan. Return to the heat, stirring the entire time until it is thickened, about 2-4 minutes. Once it has thickened, remove it from the heat and pour it into a heat safe bowl to cool.
2 large egg yolks

While the filling cools, make the meringue: Place the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium-low speed for about 2 minutes, or until a micro foam begins to form on the top of the egg whites.
4 large egg whites
With the mixer still running, add in the cream of tartar and salt. Continue whisking until the microfoam has increased in size slightly. Again, with the mixer still going, slowly pour in the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and whisk for 6-8 minutes, or until a stiff meringue has formed and soft peaks are visible. Add the vanilla and continue whisking for an additional 2 minutes. At this point, the peaks should be stiff enough to hold a peak yet soft enough that the end of the peak droops slightly when you pull the whisk out of the meringue. Once you have achieved this, the meringue is ready.
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 cup granulated sugar

Once the lemon curd filling has cooled almost to room temperature or cooler, spoon it into a piping bag. Fill a piping bag fitted with your preferred tip with the meringue.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a piping tip to remove the center of the cupcake by pressing down almost until the tip is level with the top of the cupcake. Wiggle the piping tip back out of the cupcake and run a toothpick around the inside of the piping tip to remove the cupcake piece and set aside in a bowl to use later. Once all of the cupcakes have a hollow center, fill almost to the top with lemon curd filling. Replace the piece of cupcake back into the center on top of the lemon curd and press down firmly until it is almost flush with the top of the cupcake.
Pipe meringue onto the top of each cupcake. Using a kitchen torch or even a camping torch, be sure to keep the flame about 2 inches away from the meringue. Heat the meringue until it is browned and toasted to your liking. Remember, the meringue will catch on fire and burn like a marshmallow will if the heat is prolonged or too close, so be sure not to linger too long in one spot. Also, remember the cupcake liners will also burn if the heat is too close to them.
Once the cupcakes are filled and the meringue is toasted, the cupcakes are ready to serve.

This recipe has only been tested with all-purpose flour; however, having much experience using gluten-free flour blends, I believe this recipe would still work with a good brand such as Bob's Red Mill.
You may use half-and-half in place of the milk.
It is not recommended; however, if you do not have cream of tartar, you can use additional salt in the meringue.
Use room temperature ingredients for the cupcakes.
If not using a scale, scoop and level your flour to ensure you don't end up with dense, dry cupcakes.
Do not overmix these cupcakes, or they will turn rubbery. Only stir until the flour mixture is incorporated.
Let the cupcakes cool completely before filling or frosting to prevent the filling and meringue from melting off.
When making the lemon filling, the whisk will be your best friend. As long as you whisk well while you add the heated mixture to the egg yolks, the yolks should not curdle. If they do happen to curdle but there are only a few little pieces of egg yolk, simply strain the mixture to remove those little clumps. If all of the egg yolks seem to curdle, simply start over.
When toasting your meringue, remember that the closer you get with the heat, the darker and possibly more burnt your meringue will be. Try a variation of both close and a little farther out to get light and dark areas on the meringue. The meringue will swell as it is heated, that is normal.

Storage: Store lemon meringue cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.