Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I have been wanting to try this cupcake recipe for about 6 months. I like to think of my favourite desserts and turn them into cup cakes, perfect little single servings of heaven.

I make a mean Lemon Meringue Pie and I have received lemons from various fruit trees around town a number of times but just haven’t got around to it – there is always another cupcake that takes my eye.


You see, this one takes a bit more effort than the standard cupcake, and if I had a shop (a girl can dream) this would fall into my gourmet range.

The cake itself is a lemon flavoured cupcake, nothing too out of the ordinary. The cake was very moist and just yummy.

The middle layer is lemon curd. I made it the day before the cupcake and meringue just so it had time to set and cool. A great tip Martha Stewart gives is to place the plastic wrap over the top and make it touch the curd so you don’t get that thick skin. She is so clever!

I started cutting out a bit of the top of the cake and filling it with the lemon curd but quickly tired of that as I was time poor, so ended up just smoothing it over the top as Martha had suggested.

The reason I was time poor is that I had just dropped my daughter off at Kinder and was due to pick her up two hours later. I like all my cakes to be eaten fresh and the meringue definitely is best the same day. It also needs to be piped on as soon as it is ready as it sets quickly. So I needed to make cakes, cool cakes, decorate cakes, torch cakes and deliver cakes all in a two hour window. Nothing like a challenge!

The meringue is the Seven Minute Frosting from Martha Stewart that I have made previously for my Snickerdoodle Cupcake entry. I would recommend halving the recipe though, as I have never used more than half the quantity it makes, and I had 40 cupcakes to pipe.

I have taken a few more photos so you can see how it all comes together. It looks a bit tricky, but it is quite simple compared to other meringue versions I have tried. Only hitch is that it is probably best not to have small children or clumsy adults around when you do it, as it involves heat. And another tip is don’t do what I did and throw the candy thermometer into the cold dish water straight from the saucepan – good bye thermometer! Sob, sob, sob. Only brought the thing at Christmas!


First you put the white sugar, corn syrup and water in a saucepan, stirring every now and then until boiling, then leave it alone until your thermometer reaches 230 degrees.

Meanwhile beat 6 egg whites in your trusty kitchenaid until soft peaks form, add two tablespoons of sugar.


Then, add your boiling sugar syrup slowly while beating at a low speed and beat away for seven minutes or until cooled and stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Seriously YUM!



Anyway, on the plus side, I got to use a new toy! I bought a kitchen size blow torch at Christmas and have been dying to try it out. It only costs about $35 and takes Butane gas, available in supermarkets, and is really easy to use. It browned off the meringue nicely, although I may have been a bit light on. Practice makes perfect, so I will keep practising! Here's the photo - anyone know how to make the blog rotate the photo??



How did I go with my time challenge? Mission accomplished! You didn’t doubt me did you? What’s more, that was three days ago, and I am still being stopped in the corridor by the Workaholic’s staff to tell me how good they were. Obviously, passed the taste challenge too!

mmmmm, look at that lemon curd and the meringue...

Huge success and I would highly recommend them. I am still coming off the sugar high from the meringue though! LOL!

2 comments:

  1. Thankgoodness for the new blog. I was suffering withdrawals...I'm addicted just like the workaholics workmates only i don't get to sample. Just as well really if i did sample i would end up on biggest loser!

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  2. Nobody baked me a birthday cake so I am hoping there is something in the freezer that will satisfy my craving. would've loved a lemon meringue cup cake! They look very impressive.
    M-I-L

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