Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

These lemon meringue cupcakes are ultra soft vanilla cupcakes filled with a tart lemon curd and decorated with a torched swiss meringue!

These soft & moist vanilla cupcakes are filled with a tart lemon curd and decorated with a torched swiss meringue for a freshly toasted look. They're such a fun riff off of the iconic lemon meringue pie! It never gets old when you take a bite and get this bright lemony surprise in the center. Plus the toasted meringue makes these spring cupcakes just absolutely irresistible!

Ingredients

• Cake Flour: Though it's not essential to make these cupcakes, cake flour achieves the softest crumb! 
• Sugar: The cupcakes, lemon curd, and meringue require granulated sugar.
• Leavener: You'll need just baking powder to give these cupcakes the perfect rise & texture.
• Fat: To make these cupcakes super moist while maintaining that classic buttery flavor, this recipe uses an oil-butter combo. You'll also need butter for the lemon curd.
• Dairy: For optimum flavor and texture, use full fat greek yogurt and milk.
• Eggs: The cupcakes and meringue need four egg whites total, while the curd needs 2 egg yolks.
• Cornstarch: You'll need cornstarch for thickening the lemon curd.
• Lemons: You'll need the juice of about 2 lemons for the curd. 

Instructions

Step 1: Make the cupcake batter by beating the butter into the dry ingredients, the mixing in the wet ingredients. Fold in the whipped egg white at the end.

Step 2: Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake liners and bake.

Step 3: Remove the centers of the cupcakes, fill with lemon curd, and decorate with meringue!

FAQ

Other lemon recipes you'll love

Baking in grams

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed to create incredibly delicious baked goods that you can easily recreate in your own kitchen with success. The only way this is possible is to standardize the way ingredients are measured - by weight. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), I can ensure that you can make the recipe accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x

📖 Recipe

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

• Author: Sloane
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 18 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes
• Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
• Category: cupcakes
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: American

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Description

These lemon meringue cupcakes are ultra soft vanilla cupcakes filled with a tart lemon curd and decorated with a torched swiss meringue!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the cupcakes:

• 180g (1 ½ cups) cake flour
• 170g (¾ cup + 1 ½ tbsp) granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 76g (5 ½ tbsp) unsalted butter (room temp)
• 65g (⅓ cup) neutral oil*
• 113g (½ cup) whole milk greek yogurt (room temp)
• 113g (½ cup) whole milk (room temp)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 egg whites

For the lemon curd:

• 66g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
• 6g (2 tsp) cornstarch
• ¼ tsp salt
• 22g (1 ½ tbsp) unsalted butter
• 66g (⅓ cup) lemon juice
• 2 egg yolks

For the swiss meringue:

• 70g egg whites (about 2)
• 100g (½ cup) sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla

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Instructions

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180 degrees F). Place 6 cupcake liners in a muffin pan.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Cut up the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until it resembles wet sand.
4. Add the oil, yogurt, milk, and vanilla, and mix until just combined.
5. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula until just combined.
6. Fill the cupcake liners about ⅔ of the way full.
7. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
8. Cool completely before decorating.

For the lemon curd:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt until no lumps remain.
2. In a medium saucepan over low-medium heat, melt the butter.
3. Whisk in the sugar mixture, then the lemon juice and egg yolks until fully combined, about 1 minute.
4. Use a rubber spatula to constantly stir the mixture for another 2-3 minutes or until large bubbles form in the center. Immediately remove from heat.
5. Strain the lemon curd into a bowl. Press plastic wrap up against the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

For the swiss meringue:

1. In a double boiler, heat the egg whites, sugar, and salt, whisking frequently until it reaches 160 degrees F or until the sugar is completely dissolved and the egg whites do not feel grainy.
2. Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until soft peaks form, then add the vanilla.
3. Continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
4. Decorate the cupcakes immediately.

For Assembly:

1. With a small (about ½") round cookie cutter, remove the centers of the cupcakes, pressing about ⅔ of the way into them.
2. Cut the very top of the centers off and reserve them.
3. Fill the cupcakes with lemon curd and place the top of the centers back on.
4. Pipe the meringue as desired and use a kitchen torch to give them a toasted look. Enjoy!

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Notes

• Use any neutral oil, such as light tasting extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil. 
• These cupcakes are best enjoyed the day they are made. If you would like them to last longer or to make them ahead of time, hold off with the meringue until the day they are served. 

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cupcake
• Calories: 298
• Sugar: 29.2 g
• Sodium: 224.3 mg
• Fat: 13.1 g
• Carbohydrates: 42.4 g
• Protein: 4.2 g
• Cholesterol: 49.7 mg

Keywords: lemon meringue cupcakes, lemon cupcakes, lemon curd cupcakes, tart lemon curd