Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Today I made these scrummy Lemon Meringue cupcakes, a special request by my partner! I've never shared his love for Lemon Meringue but thought it would be nice to make him his favourite.

I have to say they were divine!  The cupcake mixture filled the kitchen with the lovely fresh aroma of lemons which was gorgeous.

The recipe I used was taken from Peggy Porschen's cute little cupcake book which has the most exquisite pictures of all her favourite cupcake recipes which are baked and served in her parlour in Belgravia.  This will be my first book review I'll be posting soon, so look out for that on the Book Review tab above (if it's not already in place when you read this, it will be very soon).

The first step is to get all your ingredients ready, measured and make sure all are at room temperature.  You'll need to peel the zest of 3 unwaxed lemons.

If you're unsure as to whether your lemons are waxed or not, you can simply use boiling water to melt the wax and give it a scrub to wash it away.... 3 Ways to Dewax a Lemon.

Next you'll need to mix together your butter sugar salt and lemon zest in a mixing bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy.

Beat your eggs together before adding to your mixture.  Add slowing to the mixture, if the egg starts to curdle simply add a little flour each time to rebind the mixture. Once all the egg has been added you can sift all the flour and fold until the cake mixture is just combined, try not to over mix.



Next you add your cake batter to your ready prepared lined muffin tray.  I always use a lever operated ice cream scoop.  It saves on mess, and ensures you get the right amount each time into each case. Fill each case three quarters full.

Bake in the oven for about 18 minutes.  Oven times will vary, depending on your type of oven. I use a fan oven and usually set the time for 15 minutes.  After this time I turn them around and pop them back into the oven for another couple of minutes.  They're usually always ready after another 2-3 minutes. I insert a cocktail stick into the centre of one or two cakes just to ensure that it comes out clean.

Take them out of the tray and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Once your cakes have cooled you can use a cupcake corer to remove the centre of each cake and fill with lemon curd. You can also use an apple corer or a melon baller.

I used Mrs Bridges lemon curd. A 42g jar was okay for 12 cupcakes.

Once you've filled each cupcake with curd simply replace each hollowed out hole with the piece of sponge.

The meringue frosting was lovely and white and looked just perfect.  One thing I don't yet possess is a chef's blow torch so popped them under the grill for a minute or so to brown off.  I think they probably would have looked a lot more authentic with a blow torch though.  

Here's the recipe...

{ lemon meringue cupcakes }

Makes 15 Cupcakes

Ingredients  { for the cupcakes } 225g unsalted butter 225g caster sugar pinch of salt finely grated zest of 3 unwaxed lemons 4 medium eggs 225g self-raising flour 60ml lemon syrup (optional) 120g good quality lemon curd Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and LINE A 15 HOLE MUFFIN TIN WITH CUPCAKE CASES 2. Cream together the MARGERINE, salt, lemon zest AND CASTER SUGAR UNTIL SOFT, LIGHT AND FLUFFY 3. Beat eggs and add gradually (so not to curdle) to the creamed mixture then add flour… gently fold the flour into the mixture until just combined – try not to over mix 4. fill each cupcake case three quarters full and place your tray into the centre of the oven. bake for 18-20 minutes 6. after taking your CUPCAKES out of the oven TRANSFER TO A wire rack to cool 7. Once cooked use a cupcake corer to hollow out a smallhole in the centre of each cupcake and fill with lemon curd Ingredients  { for the frosting } 100g liquid egg white (usually 3 medium sized eggs) JUICE OF HALF LEMON 3 TBSP WATER PINCH OF SALT 260G CASTER SUGAR Instructions 1. PLACE THE EGG WHITE, LEMON JUICE, WATER AND SALT INTO A BOWL AND WHISK UNTIL SOFT PEAKS FORM 2. GRADUALLY ADD THE SUGAR, MIXING WELL BETWEEN EACH TIME. ONCE ALL SUGAR HAS BEEN ADDED INCREASE THE SPEED ON YOUR MIXER AND BEAT REALLY WELL UNTIL WHITE AND FIRM. THIS CAN TAKE ANYTHING BETWEEN 4-8 MINUTES! KEEP GOING UNTIL FIRM PEAKS APPEAR. 3. USE IMMEDIATELY – SCOOP INTO A PIPING BAG AND PIPE AND DECORATE THE TOP OF EACH CAKE. DON’T PUT CUPCAKES INTO THE FRIDGE AS THE HUMIDITY MAY MELT THE MERINGE – STORE IN A SEALED CONTAINER

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