Zingy Lemon Meringue Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• Combine lemon juice, eggs, sugar, and lemon zest for lemon curd in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spatula or spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a sieve into a bowl. Stir in butter until melted; set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
• Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt for cupcakes into a large bowl. Pour milk, oil, vanilla extract, and egg onto the dry mixture. Mix thoroughly with an electric mixer of by hand. Pour in hot water and mix to combine; batter will be thin. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin liners, filling about 3/4 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool, about 20 minutes.
• Core each cupcake using either a corer or a knife. Spoon in lemon curd.
• Pour sugar and egg whites into a large bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan or pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and egg whites are warm, to between 120 and 140 degrees F (49 to 60 degrees C) on a thermometer, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Mix in lemon juice and whip at high speed until stiff peaks form. Pipe meringue onto the cupcakes.
• Set an oven rack about 10 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Place cupcakes under the preheated broiler until meringue has browned, about 2 minutes.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water, oil, eggs and lemon zest; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes., Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean., Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert a very small tip. Fill with pie filling. Push the tip into the top of each cupcake to fill., In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Pipe over tops of cupcakes., Bake at 400° for 5-8 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Prepare the lemon cake mix according to the package instructions to make 24 cupcakes. Let cool completely.
• Using a melon baller or small spoon, scoop out a well from the top center of each cupcake. Trim the bottoms of the scooped pieces of cake to use as plugs.
• Place about 2 teaspoons lemon curd into the well of each cupcake and plug the hole with the reserved trimmed cake pieces.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. Mix the egg whites on medium-high speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the sugar and continue to beat until the egg whites are glossy and form stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.
• Fit a pastry bag with a medium to large round pastry tip. Fill the pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue in a circular motion on top of each cupcake. Transfer the cupcakes to a sheet tray. Use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue tops until nicely browned, like a toasted marshmallow.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Beat half the sugar and all the butter until pale, then add whole eggs, one by one, beating in well each time. Stir in the zest and a squeeze of lemon juice, then fold in flour. Check the batter's consistency; it should softly drop off the end of a spoon. Add more lemon juice if it's a bit stiff.
• Line a 12-hole bun tin with cake cases and put 1 large tbsp mix in each. Smooth then make a little dip in the centre. Spoon 1 tsp lemon curd into each dip and cover with 1 tbsp cake mix. Bake for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile, place the egg whites into a clean bowl, whisk until stiff peaks form, then whisk in the rest of the sugar a tbsp at a time. Keep whisking until the mixture looks glossy and has thickened a little, like shaving foam. Spoon the mixture into a freezer bag and snip off the end to leave a hole with a 1.5cm diameter.
• Take the cakes out of the oven - tops should be very pale and just firm - then pipe meringue all over the cakes. Return to the oven for 10-15 mins until the cakes are cooked through and meringue lightly browned. Can be made 1 day ahead.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325ºF (170ºC).
• In a medium bowl, cream the butter and slowly add the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated.
• Sift the flour and baking powder into the sugar mixture. Add salt and mix until just combined.
• Add the vanilla, milk, and lemon juice, and mix until incorporated.
• Scoop mixture into a lined cupcake tin about ¾ full.
• Bake 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly from the center of the cupcakes. Let cupcakes cool.
• Prepare the lemon curd by whisking the yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water.
• Once the sugar is dissolved, add the lemon juice and zest. Stir until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes.
• Once the curd coats the back of a spoon, add the butter and stir until melted.
• Remove from the heat, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Make sure the cling film touches the surface of the curd so that a film doesn't form on top.
• Prepare the frosting by whisking the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl over simmering water until it thickens and the sugar dissolves completely. Tempering the eggs will ensure the frosting is food safe without being baked.
• Remove from the heat, add the cream of tartar, and beat about 10 minutes until soft peaks form.
• Using a piping tip or a knife, cut a hole into the top of the cupcakes and press down to make a well for the curd.
• Add lemon curd into the cupcakes and frost them with the meringue.
• Torch the frosting or carefully broil for about 3 to 4 minutes. Be sure that you use foil cupcake liners if broiling!
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
• With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, and beating until just combined after each.
• Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
• To finish, spread 1 tablespoon lemon curd onto middle of each cupcake. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open-star tip (Ateco #828 or Wilton #8B) with frosting. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip slightly and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Hold a small kitchen torch 3 to 4 inches from surface of frosting, and wave it back and forth until frosting is lightly browned all over. Serve immediately.