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These Lemon Meringue Cupcakes are made with a light lemon cake, lemon curd filling and lightly toasted meringue frosting! It’s like Lemon Meringue Pie in cupcake form!
Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
I’ve been loving turning fun pie flavors into cupcakes! Between the Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes, Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes and now these Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, these are some super fun cupcakes! I always love the surprise filling too. It’s a whole other way to add more flavor and texture to make a cupcake that much more interesting.
For these cupcakes, the base starts with my new Moist Vanilla Cupcake. You guys have been loving those cupcakes and I love how moist and easy they are to put together. For this version of them I added some lemon zest. It adds a light lemon flavor to the cupcakes, but it isn’t overwhelming.
The bulk of the lemon flavor in these comes from the lemon curd. If you’d never made lemon curd before, you have to try it. Homemade lemon curd really is so much better than the store-bought versions. A stronger, more tart flavor. Love it!
How to Make These Lovely Lemon Cupcakes
It’s also not hard to make. Just combine everything in a double boiler (or mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water, as I use) and cook until it reaches 160 degrees. I use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature, but you could also just use a spoon. Run it through the curd and see if it leaves a film on the back of the spoon. If it does, it should be good.
The curd will thicken up in the fridge and then be ready to add to the cupcakes. I like to press some clear wrap onto the top of the curd to keep it from developing a film on top as it cools.
Making the meringue is somewhat similar to the curd in that you also use a double boiler (or the same mixer bowl/pot set up). Once the egg whites reach the right temperature, it’s whipped on high speed until a fluffy meringue forms. If it seems intimidating, just think of it like whipped cream. 🙂 Aside from heating the egg whites, the whipping of them is just like whipped cream. Easy, peasy!
Putting everything together is mostly a breeze too. Cut the center out of the cupcake, fill it with lemon curd and then add the meringue frosting. Finishing them off is where it can get a little tricky. If you want to add the lemon slices, I suggest adding them first, then toasting the meringue. The slices are tough to get into the frosting after it’s been toasted.
To toast them, I used a kitchen torch. It’s easy to use, but you have to be careful with it. It can easily light the cupcake liners on fire. Several of mine did. They blow right out easily, but just keep your fingers safely out of the way.
These cupcakes were a hit! Light, super moist, and full of the best parts of lemon meringue pie – the lemon filling and the toasted meringue! They make a super cute presentation and are something a little fun and different to enjoy. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
Watch How To Make Them
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Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Lemon Meringue Cupcakes are made with a light lemon cake, lemon curd filling and lightly toasted meringue frosting! It’s like Lemon Meringue Pie in cupcake form!
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
- 1 1/4 cups (163g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water
Lemon Curd
- 6 tbsp (90ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
- ½ cup (104g) sugar
- 6 large egg yolks
- 4 tbsp (56g) unsalted butter
Meringue Frosting and Topping
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- Lemon slices, optional
Instructions
Make the Lemon Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large mixer bowl and combine. Set aside.
- Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, lemon zest and egg to a medium sized bowl and combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
- Slowly add the water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
- Fill the cupcake liners about half way and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Make the Lemon Curd
- Place a saucepan of water over medium heat and bring it to a simmer.
- Place a metal mixing bowl (or the top of a double broiler over the simmering water and combine all the lemon curd ingredients. Heat while whisking constantly until mixture thickens and reaches 160°F (71°C), or coats the back of a spoon.
- Pour the lemon curd into a small bowl and cover with clear wrap pressed against the top of the curd to prevent a film from forming. Refrigerate until completely cool and firm, 3-4 hours.
Make the Meringue Frosting
- When you are ready to build the cupcakes, make the meringue frosting. Place a saucepan of water over medium heat and bring it to a simmer.
- Combine the sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla extract and egg whites in a large metal mixer bowl (or the top of a double broiler). Place it over the saucepan of simmering water.
- Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and egg whites are warm, to 160°F (71°C) on a thermometer, about 4-6 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg white mixture on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes.
Assemble the Cupcakes
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (I used Ateco tip 808) with meringue frosting. Set aside.
- Use a cupcake corer (or a knife) to cut a hole in the center of the cupcakes.
- Fill the center of the cupcakes with lemon curd.
- Pipe a swirl of meringue frosting on top of each cupcake.
- If desired, cut thin slices of lemon to finish off the cupcakes. Insert the lemon slices gently into the frosting, then toast the frosting lightly with a kitchen torch.
- Refrigerate cupcakes until ready to serve. Best if eaten within 2-3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 36.5 g
- Sodium: 113 mg
- Fat: 10.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.2 g
- Protein: 4.8 g
- Cholesterol: 102.4 mg
Enjoy!
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I stuck them under the broiler for a few seconds, till they started to smoke and brown. Fast way to do the all at once.
Awesome! Glad that worked well!
Planning to make these this weekend for a party. I was thinking of pressing a mixture of graham cracker crumbs and butter into the bottom of the cupcake paper (like a mini graham cracker crust), then pouring cupcake batter over it.
Do you think this would work? Tips on executing this would be great!
Thanks!
Quick correction- 6tbsp of lemon juice is not 90mL, perhaps you meant 9mL?
It is actually 90ml, that is correct.
i used a boxed cake mix and store bought lemon curd, but found this recipe when i needed one for meringue frosting. worked like a charm! it holds up really well, even though i couldn’t get it to stiff peaks. delicious too! i had extra, so i piped that onto a baking sheet and made meringue cookies. thanks for the great meringue recipe!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Just wanted to say I’ve used this cupcake recipe SEVERAL times, and it is always a HIT! I do add a bit extra lemon zest. Additionally, if you roll the zest around in the sugar and let it sit for a few minutes prior to adding the other ingredients, it helps the flavor pop!
That’s a great idea! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes!
Hi! I made your meringue frosting and immediately put the cupcakes into the fridge once frosted. I used a large pastry tip but, unfortunately, the frosting flattened out quite a bit and lost most of the textured design from the tip I used. Any idea what would cause that? I thought maybe that I refrigerated the cupcakes but just saw that was how you instructed it be stored. I’m wondering if I beat the heated egg white mixture too long??? The frosting piped BEAUTIFULLY and tasted absolutely AMAZING but just flattened out with time. Thank you!
I forgot to mention on other weird thing. The first 3 cupcakes that I frosted (with an admittedly less wide base of frosting) flattened out less than those with a wider base of frosting (i.e. the frosting covered more of the cupcake top).
Hmmm, hard to say for sure. It could be that it was whipped for too long – you want to stop when it’s hit stiff peaks.
I tried making this again last night and the same thing happened, only worse this time. Was making cupcakes for a customer so this is very frustrating and money/ingredients wasted. 🙁
I’m sorry to hear that. I’d suggest looking up some tips on making meringue and seeing if you can figure out what’s happening.
My curd didn’t seem to set up. Its kind of runny. I made it according to the directions. Is there something I can do without having to make a whole new batch?
I’m not really sure that there’s a way to firm it back up at this point. You could try cooking it a little longer next time to get it a little thicker.
Also ended up with a thin curd despite having brought it to 160°F and several hours in the fridge…
These look scrumptious! Could you adjust the cooking times to make these mini cupcakes?
I would think that’d be ok. I usually suggest 8-10 minutes for minis.
Dear Lindsay,
I can’t wait to make your lemon meringue cupcakes this Tuesday. Can you let me know if the eggs and butter for the cake, lemon curd and frosting need to be room temperature?
Thank you.
Ting
Your recipe looks lovely! Can you advise please – are the temperatures quoted for your lemon curd and heated meringue in farenheit or centigrade? Many thanks in advance for your assistance ☺️ ????
They are Fahrenheit.
Thank for the recipe. I made these last week and they turned out great. Here’s my take:
https://whatthedogate.blogspot.com/2017/07/lemon-meringue-cupcakes.html
Sooooo delicious!????????
is there an alternate method for the torch?
You could put them under the broiler for a few minutes.
Yum! Wow, Lindsay, you are super busy in the kitchen. It seems like just about every day you have a new recipe up on your blog! Wherever do you find the time to do that?
Thanks Melissa! I usually post 3 times a week. With it being my full-time job, it certainly keeps me busy!
Hi Lindsay – where can I find that awesome cupcake corer, the one I got from the store isn’t great. Thanks!
This is the one I use (on Amazon). Sadly, you can only buy it as a 2 pack. I think I got mine at Home Goods.
I have made these a few times and they are absolutely beautiful. They are so light and fluffy and taste amazing. I’m just wondering is it possible to make it as a cake instead of cupcakes as I want to make it as a birthday cake for someone.
Yes, you could make a cake. You’d want to double the cake part to get the cake layers, as I did in this cake. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/berry-mascarpone-layer-cake/
You could also follow this lemon curd recipe to be sure you have the right amount. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/lemon-mascarpone-layer-cake/
And you may want more meringue if you’re going to cover the whole cake.
Amazing recipe! It was a hit. Taste just like a lemon meringue pie!
Can’t figure out why the Meringue melted when in room air for a bit. I know it’s a refrigerated product however wondering what I did wrong.
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Oh, my goodness!! I’ve got to have myself some of these cupcakes! 🙂