Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

By AzWench

Sweet and sunny, with all the things we love about lemon meringue pie — but in cupcake form. A microwave version of traditional lemon curd saves you time, but doesn’t skimp on flavor. Let’s hear it for Lemon Power!

Ingredients

• CUPCAKES:
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour Blend
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor (optional, but adds that signature bakery taste)
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• LEMON CURD:
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (8-tablespoons) butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• MERINGUE:
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon Bakewell Cream or cream of tartar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons sugar

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 35mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a 12-cup cupcake or muffin pan with paper liners; spritz the liners lightly with cooking spray.

To make the cupcakes: Place the following in the bowl of your mixer: the cake flour blend, baking powder, salt, baking soda, sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor. Add 1/3 cup of the buttermilk.

Blend the mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes. The mixture will be thick at first, but will smooth out as you mix.

Add the remaining 1/3 cup buttermilk and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and mix briefly, if necessary.

Fill each well of the pan 2/3 full, and bake the cupcakes for 15 to 18 minutes, until they’re light golden brown on the edges. Remove them from the oven, and immediately transfer them from the pan to a rack. Cool completely.

Prepare the lemon curd according to the recipe, and set it aside to cool and thicken as the cupcakes cool.

Core each cooled cupcake with a cupcake corer (or an apple corer), leaving a small well in the center of the cake. Fill to the brim with cooled lemon filling. Fill all cupcakes, then prepare the meringue.

To make the meringue: In a very clean work bowl, whip the egg whites and Bakewell Cream or cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the salt. Gradually add the sugar, increasing the whipping speed and continuing to whip until the mixture is light and billowy, and stiff peaks form.

Mound or pipe meringue onto each cupcake, then toast the meringue with a cook’s torch; or carefully broil until golden brown. Serve warm, for a flowing lemon lava; or cool for a more set filling.

EASY MICROWAVE LEMON CURD:

Combine all of the ingredients in a large microwave-safe bowl. To avoid bubble-overs, the contents should fill no more than 1/4 of the bowl; an 8-cup measure works well here.

Microwave the ingredients in 1-minute increments, removing from the oven and stirring to combine after each minute.

When curd starts to thicken; coats the back of a spoon; and starts to mound a bit as you stir, it’s done. This will take anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes, depending on the strength/power of your microwave.

Stir the curd one more time, spoon it into a storage container, and refrigerate until firm.

Keep curd refrigerated for up to 3 weeks; freeze for longer storage.

Yield: a scant 2 cups lemon curd.