Lemon Meringue Cupcakes – light lemon cupcakes, filled with lemon curd & topped with meringue. They’re the perfect spring dessert!
I have theeeee BEST spring treat for you today…Lemon Meringue Cupcakes!
Are you guys so excited it’s spring? I can’t wait to do all the things on my spring to-do list…you guys are doing it too right? 🙂 Obviously since the 1st of September it has been still cold and rainy but at least the days are a bit longer! We had our big community rugby/netball day this weekend which was so much fun but was a huge late night on Saturday so Sunday was spent snuggling on the couch watching movies and making the most of the inside weather before I can’t bear to be anywhere other than outside!
I’ve been wanting to make lemon meringue cupcakes for a while. Our chooks are laying lots of eggs, our lemon tree is laden and the sun is shining…well, it was for 5 minutes while I made these. What better time?! Plus they remind me of daisies so anything to do with flowers is automatically spring friendly!
The lemon cupcakes are simply my favourite vanilla cupcake recipe with a little less vanilla and a bit of lemon zest added. Just enough to give them a little lemony kick but not enough to take away from the curd filling.
The cupcakes are then hollowed out and filled right up with delicious tangy lemon curd. I usually make my homemade lemon curd using whole eggs because I have super strong feelings about only using half of the egg in a recipe, but obviously in this instance you need the egg whites for the meringue topping so I used just egg yolks for the curd and it was perfect.
To fill the cupcakes, let them cool completely, and then using a knife or an apple corer make a hole in the centre, about 1-2 cm deep and round. You won’t need the bits of the cupcake you have removed, so dip them in the leftover lemon curd and make them disappear 🙂
Spoon the lemon curd into the centre, making sure it is filled right to the top and even a little bit overflowing. I’ve made cupcakes before where I have baked the lemon curd into the cakes, which was awesome, but this way is SO much better. The lemon curd stays super gooey and drips out when you go to eat them…yuuuus!!
It might not seem like a lot of lemon curd but once you open them up…omg!
The meringue is simple to make – egg whites, sugar and vanilla all whipped up in a stand mixer until it forms stiff peaks like this
Spoon it on and put the cupcakes under the grill for a few minutes until the tops are golden brown – don’t walk away to answer the phone though – they go from zero to 100 in no time! And I really don’t want you to catch your oven on fire!
Perfect!
Theses lemon meringue cupcakes are so dreamy – they take a little more time than regular cupcakes but they are so worth it! Perfect for spring!
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Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 125 g butter softened
- ¾ cup (150g) caster sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups (210g) flour
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup milk
- 1 TBSP lemon zest
Lemon curd
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 TBSP lemon zest
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 20 g butter
Meringue
- 2 egg whites
- 1/3 cup (70g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cupcakes
- In a stand mixer cream butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
- Add eggs 1 at a time and beat for 30 seconds after adding each one and for another minute after they've both been added until well incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides if necessary. Add vanilla and mix in.
- Mix flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl.
- Add half the flour mixture and half the milk to the batter and beat slowly until combined.
- Repeat with the remaining flour and milk.
- Add lemon zest and mix for 30 seconds.
- Scoop the batter evenly into 12 lined muffin tins and bake at 180°C for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Place cupcakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Lemon curd
- In a small pot whisk together egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and zest. Cook over a low-medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon (about 10 minutes).
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until melted.
- Using a sharp knife or an apple corer, remove a 1-2cm core from the middle of the cupcakes. You can remove as much of the cupcake as you like, depending on how much lemon curd you want in the middle.
- Spoon about 1 TBSP of lemon curd into the cupcakes and set aside while you make the meringue.
Meringue
- In a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the sugar and vanilla extract, and continue to whip until the meringue holds stiff peaks.
- Scoop the meringue on top of the filled cupcakes, using a spoon to create patterns in the meringue.
- Turn the grill on the oven onto 200°C. Place the cupcakes onto an oven tray and put them under the grill on the top shelf of the oven for about 4 minutes, turning the tray halfway through for even cooking. Keep a really close eye on them as the meringue can burn very quickly.
- Allow the cupcakes to come to room temperature and serve.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.
Nutrition
These are SO adorable! They are just perfect for spring! Of course, it’s turning into fall here, but… I think I could eat cupcakes any time of year. 😛 I also love your new site design! It is very clean and I love the sidebar suggestions.
Thanks Claire! And thanks for the feedback! I’m still working out a few design kinks but I’m super excited about it! 🙂
So cute! I love all things lemon, especially lemon curd.
Lemon curd is my favourite too! 🙂