Lemon meringue pie cupcakes
These gorgeous cupcakes have an impossibly light and fluffy sponge, tangy lemon curd and silky Italian meringue. Trust me when I say they are a little taste of heaven. I like to bake my cupcakes really low and slow so they’re not only really light in texture but also have a flat top, perfect for decorating. Baking them at 150°C is a real game changer, trust me.
This recipe makes 12 large individual cupcakes. They are perfect for entertaining or just because…
Equipment
Muffin/cupcake tray
Muffin cases/large cupcake cases
Electric hand whisk or stand mixer (not essential but does help)
Sugar thermometer
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
180g unsalted butter, softened
180 caster sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp baking powder
180g self raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Splash milk
Half a jar lemon curd
For the Italian Meringue
240g caster sugar
75g water
90g egg whites
Pinch salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
Method
Heat your oven to 150°C fan and fill a 12 cupcake tray with muffin cases.
Using an electric whisk or stand mixer, beat the butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy (I normally do this for 5-10 minutes), then whisk in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition
Add the self-raising flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix until just combined, then add the vanilla extract and milk and mix again. Do not over mix. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases (I use an ice-cream scoop to make sure I get the same amount in each)
Bake for 15-18 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle of each cake comes out clean. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack
Once the cupcakes are cool, use the end of a teaspoon or cake corer to scoop out a small hole in the middle of each cake. You can discard the little piece of cake or stick it in your gob (I normally do the latter). Then spoon in a heaped teaspoon of lemon curd to fill the hole
To make the Italian meringue, place the sugar in a heavy-based deep saucepan with the water over a medium heat. Bring the mixture to the boil without stirring, brushing down any sugar crystals on the side of the pan with a wet pastry brush. When it reaches 110°C, start whisking your egg whites (slowly at first) in a stand mixer or using an electric whisk, until soft peaks form
Once the sugar mixture gets to 120°C and you have soft peaks, while whisking pour the boiling syrup onto the egg whites in a thin, steady stream, being careful not to pour the syrup on to the whisk. Continue to whisk the egg whites until the mixture is stiff, shiny and stable, and the bowl is cool to touch
Place the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle (or just snip off the end of the piping bag) and then pipe it generously onto each cupcake. If you have a blowtorch (don’t worry if you don’t), kiss the piped Italian meringue with heat around the top and edges. The smell and taste of scorched meringue is to die for trust me.
Place the finished cupcakes on a pretty stand and enjoy!
