To catch you up: I love lemons. A lot.
So when I was suddenly put in charge of Easter dinner this year (which I think solidifies my "responsible grown-up" status), I knew I had to make something lemony for dessert. My mom, knowing of my lifelong lemon love (after all, she was the one who fulfilled all of my "lemon with lemon frosting, please" birthday cake requests), had torn a recipe from her Rachael Ray magazine. That recipe was Lemon Meringue Cupcakes. Perfect.
Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
makes 4 dozen mini cupcakes or 2 dozen full-sized
1-1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1-2/3 c. sugar, plus about 1 tbsp for decorating
2 tbsp finely grated lemon peel, plus thin strips of peel for garnish
2 large eggs plus 4 egg whites, at room temperature
1 jar lemon curd
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1-2/3 c. sugar, plus about 1 tbsp for decorating
2 tbsp finely grated lemon peel, plus thin strips of peel for garnish
2 large eggs plus 4 egg whites, at room temperature
1 jar lemon curd
THE CUPCAKES:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
- Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk and lemon juice.
- Using an electric mixer (I used my trusty KitchenAid stand mixer), beat the butter on high until creamy - about one minute. Add one cup sugar and the lemon peel and beat until fluffy - about 5 minutes. Add the two eggs, one at a time, and beat on medium until combined.
- On low speed, beat in a third of the dry ingredients, then a third of the buttermilk and lemon peel. Repeat, alternating ingredients, until everything is in and the batter is smooth.
- Spoon the batter into each liner, about three-quarters full. Bake about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.
THE MERINGUE:
- In a heatproof bowl (I used my KitchenAid mixing bowl), whisk together the remaining 2/3 c. sugar and the egg whites. Place over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl, and heat just until the sugar dissolves (I had a lot of trouble seeing this, and I think I took mine off the heat too quickly. When in doubt, leave it on there longer - just make sure to keep whisking so it doesn't burn).
- Remove from heat and beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form (this will take awhile so don't fret if nothing happens for several minutes!).
- Spread a thin layer of lemon curd over the cooled cupcakes and dollop the meringue on top.
- Toss the lemon peel strips in sugar to coat, and place on on each cupcake.
The recipe looks complicated, but these were fairly easy to make. And so pretty and delicious!
Give them a try and let me know how it goes!
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2 comments:
I made lemon poppyseed cupcakes for Easter, and they were really good, but these look AMAZING! I'll have to try them out! Thanks for the recipe. :)
www.chasingbeautyblog.blogspot.com
These look delicious and super sweet!
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