Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

These Lemon Meringue Cupcakes are made with a light lemon cake, lemon curd filling and lightly toasted meringue frosting! It’s like Lemon Meringue Pie in cupcake form!

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I’ve been loving turning fun pie flavors into cupcakes! Between the Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes, Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes and now these Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, these are some super fun cupcakes! I always love the surprise filling too. It’s a whole other way to add more flavor and texture to make a cupcake that much more interesting.

For these cupcakes, the base starts with my new Moist Vanilla Cupcake. You guys have been loving those cupcakes and I love how moist and easy they are to put together. For this version of them I added some lemon zest. It adds a light lemon flavor to the cupcakes, but it isn’t overwhelming.

The bulk of the lemon flavor in these comes from the lemon curd. If you’d never made lemon curd before, you have to try it. Homemade lemon curd really is so much better than the store-bought versions. A stronger, more tart flavor. Love it!

How to Make These Lovely Lemon Cupcakes

It’s also not hard to make. Just combine everything in a double boiler (or mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water, as I use) and cook until it reaches 160 degrees. I use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature, but you could also just use a spoon. Run it through the curd and see if it leaves a film on the back of the spoon. If it does, it should be good.

The curd will thicken up in the fridge and then be ready to add to the cupcakes. I like to press some clear wrap onto the top of the curd to keep it from developing a film on top as it cools.

Making the meringue is somewhat similar to the curd in that you also use a double boiler (or the same mixer bowl/pot set up). Once the egg whites reach the right temperature, it’s whipped on high speed until a fluffy meringue forms. If it seems intimidating, just think of it like whipped cream. 🙂 Aside from heating the egg whites, the whipping of them is just like whipped cream. Easy, peasy!

Putting everything together is mostly a breeze too. Cut the center out of the cupcake, fill it with lemon curd and then add the meringue frosting. Finishing them off is where it can get a little tricky. If you want to add the lemon slices, I suggest adding them first, then toasting the meringue. The slices are tough to get into the frosting after it’s been toasted.

To toast them, I used a kitchen torch. It’s easy to use, but you have to be careful with it. It can easily light the cupcake liners on fire. Several of mine did. They blow right out easily, but just keep your fingers safely out of the way.

These cupcakes were a hit! Light, super moist, and full of the best parts of lemon meringue pie – the lemon filling and the toasted meringue! They make a super cute presentation and are something a little fun and different to enjoy. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

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Recipe

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

★★★★★ 5 from 10 reviews

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 12-14 Cupcakes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

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Description

These Lemon Meringue Cupcakes are made with a light lemon cake, lemon curd filling and lightly toasted meringue frosting! It’s like Lemon Meringue Pie in cupcake form!

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Ingredients

LEMON CUPCAKES

• 1 1/4 cups (163g) all purpose flour
• 1 cup (207g) sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
• 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (120ml) water

LEMON CURD

• 6 tbsp (90ml) fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• ½ cup (104g) sugar
• 6 large egg yolks
• 4 tbsp (56g) unsalted butter

MERINGUE FROSTING

• 1 cup (207g) sugar
• 1/2 tsp cream of tarter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites, room temperature

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
2. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large mixer bowl and combine. Set aside.
3. Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, lemon zest and egg to a medium sized bowl and combine.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
5. Slowly add the water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
6. Fill the cupcake liners about half way and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
7. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
8. To make the lemon curd, combine all the ingredients in a double boiler (or in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water). Heat while whisking constantly until mixture thickens and reaches 160 degrees, or coats the back of a spoon.
9. Pour the lemon curd into a small bowl and cover with clear wrap pressed against the top of the curd to prevent a film from forming. Refrigerate until completely cool and firm, 3-4 hours.
10. When you are ready to build the cupcakes, make the meringue frosting. To make the meringue, combine the sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla extract and egg whites in a large mixer bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan or pot of simmering water. You can also use a double boiler.
11. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and egg whites are warm, to 160 degrees on a thermometer, about 4-6 minutes. Remove from heat.
12. Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg white mixture on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes.
13. To put the cupcakes together, use a cupcake corer (or a knife) to cut a hole in the center of the cupcakes.
14. Fill the center of the cupcake with lemon curd.
15. Frost the cupcakes with the meringue frosting. I use Ateco tip 808.
16. Finish off the cupcakes with a slice of lemon, if you like, then toast lightly with a kitchen torch.
17. Refrigerate cupcakes until ready to serve.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
• Calories: 290
• Sugar: 36.5 g
• Sodium: 113 mg
• Fat: 10.1 g
• Carbohydrates: 46.2 g
• Protein: 4.8 g
• Cholesterol: 102.4 mg

Keywords: lemon cupcakes, lemon cupcakes recipe, easy cupcakes, easy cupcakes recipe, lemon cake recipe, lemon cake, lemon curd recipe, lemon curd uses, lemon dessert recipe

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