Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Okay, so, it looks like we have gone slightly cupcake crazy. After those delicious passion fruit Eton mess cupcakes, our imagination kicked in with more sweet treat recipes. Staying with the fresh and tart taste, we bring to you our perfect lemon meringue cupcake recipe - adding a light and soft twist to the traditional pie. 

The fluffy lemon cake paired with the sharp and tangy lemon curd centre, is topped off with a cloud of velvety meringue, with a slight crunchy surface. This recipe makes 12 yummy cupcakes that stay moist for up to 5 days, allowing you to savour that scrumptious taste over the week, that's if you can resist the urge to eat them all in one day!

For the cupcakes:

• 160g self-raising flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp salt
• 120ml milk
• 60ml vegetable oil
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2tsp lemon zest

For lemon curd:

• 100g caster sugar
• 7 tbsp lemon juice
• 2tsp lemon zest
• 4tbsp butter
• 4 egg yolks

For the meringue:

• 200g caster sugar
• 4 egg whites

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1) Line a 12 hole cupcake tin with cake cases and preheat the oven to 180°C.

2) In a mixing bowl, add all of your dry ingredients for the cakes. In a separate bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until well combined. 

3) Fill the cupcake cases until they are half way full and bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes.

4) While you wait, juice your lemons and add the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, butter and egg yolks to your SCANPAN TechnIQ Windsor. Simmer on a high heat for 5-10 minutes, or until a thick curd is formed.

5) Once the curd is cool, add it to a piping bag with no nozzle and keep in the fridge until later.

6) Once the cupcakes are baked, allow them to cool.

7) In the meantime, make your meringue - add the egg whites to a mixing bowl and whisk for around 10 minutes, or until light, white fluffy peaks start to form. At this point, begin to add your sugar tablespoon at a time. Mix well, until the meringue is stiff and keeps its shape when the whisk is removed.

8) Pop the meringue into a piping bag with a star shaped nozzle.

9) Cut a hole in the centre of all of your cupcakes and remove this section (we don't need these for later so you are free to eat them!)

10) Snip the end of the piping bag with the lemon curd and begin to fill the centre of your cupcakes until they are full.

11) Pipe the meringue on the top of each cupcake, starting from the outside and gradually going up as you approach the centre.

12) For a golden, crispy meringue surface, carefully blow torch the top to achieve a golden crust.

You can see a step by step video over on our IGTV @ilovehaus