Go Back
–+ servings
A lemon meringue cupcake cut in half to show the cross section and the lemon curd filling inside.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Author: Gail Ng
Soft and fluffy hot milk cupcakes filled with tangy lemon curd and topped with toasted swiss meringue
5 from 4 votes
PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE SAVE RECIPE
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 47 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 47 minutes
Yield 12 cupcakes
Category Dessert
Cuisine American

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Lemon Curd

  • 1 large whole egg
  • 3 large egg yolks, save the egg whites for the meringue
  • 80 g granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons lemon juice, juice of 1 lemon
  • 50 g unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed

Cupcakes

  • 150 g all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 150 g granulated sugar
  • 60 g unsalted butter
  • 125 g milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon oil

Swiss Meringue

  • 3 large egg whites
  • 100 g granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

Lemon Curd

  • Mix: In a small pan or pot, stir together the egg, egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice.
    Left to right: eggs and sugar in a pan, hand squeezing juice from a lemon over a sieve into a pan of eggs and sugar.
  • Heat until thickened: Heat the mixture on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it thickens into a gel-like consistency, about 10-15 minutes. It will seem like nothing's happening for the first several minutes and then it will suddenly thicken very quickly and you want to be stirring constantly at that point. When you drag a spatula through the curd, it should part and take a few seconds to come back together.
    Left to right: hand stirring lemon curd mixture in a pan before it's fully cooked, hand dragging a spatula through lemon curd to show how it parts down the middle.
  • Stir in butter: Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter, one cube at a time, until they melt into the lemon curd before adding the next one.
    Left to right: hand holding a spatula in a pan of lemon curd with a cube of butter on the surface, stirring lemon curd with a spatula.
  • Strain: Push the lemon curd through a fine mesh sieve to remove any bits of cooked egg or lemon seeds for a silky smooth texture. Transfer the lemon curd to a small bowl to cool at room temperature or in the fridge.
    Left to right: pushing lemon curd through a sieve into a bowl with a spatula, a small bowl full of strained lemon curd.

Cupcakes

  • Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
  • Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
    Left to right: a bowl of dry ingredients, hand stirring dry ingredients with a spoon.
  • Heat milk mixture: In a small pot or microwave-safe bowl, add the milk, butter, oil, and vanilla extract. Heat it on the stovetop or in the microwave just until the butter has melted. Don't let it boil. Remove it from the heat and cover to keep it warm while you start making the batter.
    Left to right: cubes of butter and milk in a pan on a stove, melted butter and milk in a pan on a stove.
  • Whip eggs: In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar. Use an electric hand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to beat the mixture on low-medium speed increasing to medium-high speed for 6 whole minutes until the egg mixture has tripled in volume and becomes very pale (almost white) in colour.
    Left to right: beating eggs and sugar with a hand mixer, hand mixer beating eggs until white and fluffy.
  • Mix in flour: Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just barely combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix again until just barely combined. Some flour patches in the batter and up the sides of the bowl are fine as you'll continue mixing some more in the next step.
    Left to right: flour in a bowl of beaten eggs, mixing flour into egg mixture with a hand mixer.
  • Stream in hot milk: With the mixer on low speed, slowly stream the hot milk mixture into the batter with your other hand, mixing until just combined into a smooth, fluid batter.
    Left to right: pouring hot milk mixture into egg mixture while mixing with a hand mixer, mixing cupcake batter with a hand mixer.
  • Fill cupcake liners: Fill the cupcake liners about ⅔ full. Bake cupcakes for about 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean with a few crumbs and the tops spring back when gently pressed.
    Left to right: dropping batter into a cupcake liner from a cookie scoop, pan filled with cupcake batter.
  • Cool: Let the cupcakes cool in the pan only for about 5 minutes before lifting them out of the pan and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely

Swiss Meringue

  • Create a double boiler: In a small pot, bring about 1" of water to a boil. To a heat-safe mixing bowl that fits on top of the pot perfectly without touching the water, add the egg whites, sugar, and vanilla extract.
    Left to right: water boiling in a pot on a stove, pouring vanilla extract into a bowl of egg whites and sugar.
  • Heat mixture: When the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and place the mixing bowl on top of the pot. Gently heat the mixture, stirring often, until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm. If you rub a bit of the mixture in between your fingers, it should feel smooth without any grittiness.
    Left to right: stirring egg whites and sugar in a bowl on a double boiler, finger rubbing egg white mixture on spatula to check for grittiness.
  • Beat until stiff peaks: Remove the bowl from the pot, being careful not to get any water in the bowl. Use an electric hand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to beat the mixture on low-medium speed until it becomes foamy. Increase to medium-high speed and continue beating until the mixture becomes opaque white and stiff peaks that curl over slightly at the tips.
    Left to right: beating egg white mixture with a hand mixer, stiff peaks of meringue in bowl and on the beaters.

Assemble the cupcakes

  • Scoop out the middle: Use a small melon baller or a knife to scoop out the middle portion of each cupcake, about halfway deep into the cupcake.
    Left to right: scooping out the middle of a cupcake with a melon baller, hand holding a cupcake with a hole in the middle.
  • Fill with lemon curd: If you've stored your lemon curd in the fridge overnight, heat it in the microwave or stovetop for a more fluid and pipable consistency. Transfer the lemon curd to a piping bag and snip the tip of the bag off. Pipe the lemon curd into the middle of each cupcake.
    Left to right: piping lemon curd into the hole in a cupcake, cupcakes on a wire rack filled with lemon curd.
  • Top with meringue: With a cookie scooper, add a scoop of meringue on top of each cupcake or pipe it on top with a piping bag and piping tip. Use the back of a spoon to press a depression on top of the meringue to fill with lemon curd later (optional).
    Left to right: placing a scoop of meringue on top of a cupcake with a cookie scooper, pressing a spoon on top of meringue to make a depression.
  • Torch meringue: Use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue to your liking. Be careful not to get too close to the cupcake liners as they're flammable. Add an extra dollop of lemon curd on top of the meringue if you like!
    Left to right: toasting meringue on a cupcake with a kitchen torch, piping lemon curd on top of meringue frosting on a cupcake.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 120mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 371IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1mg
Keywords lemon cupcakes, lemon curd cupcakes, lemon meringue cupcakes
Tried this recipe?Leave a rating & comment to let us know how it was and tag your Instagram posts with @teakandthyme!