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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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Is it possible to toast the meringue in the oven? or would that affect the cupcake?
I haven’t tried it but it would probably be fine.
Can the recipe be used to make mini cupcakes? If so, how long would the baking time be?
Mini cupcakes might be a little hard to fill, but you could try it. I’m not sure of the baking time, but likely around 8 minutes.
This recipe was a hit, thank you. I also did them in mini cupcakes, perfect mouthful and I put them in for roughly 8 minutes. I actually prefer the mini ones cause they’re the perfect mouthful and they all vanished on the night.
So glad you enjoyed them!
Hello ,
I do like lemon curd, and i am wondering lemon curd on this recipe and Lemon Curd (https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/lemon-curd/) are similar?
Also, which recipe should I use for choux?
Thank you
They are very similar. You could use either.
I made these for Easter dinner so made the afternoon before and by morning the meringues had all collapsed off the top. They were fine for about 5 hours, as I checked them before bed and they were in the fridge the whole time. I didn’t toast mine as I wanted to keep the beautiful white colour and texture on top. Is it the toasting that keeps the meringue from running off? They still taste great but are a mess to look at.
No, the toasting shouldn’t make a difference. Did you use a thermometer when cooking the meringue on the stove? It’s possible that it was a little undercooked or a little under whipped.
About how many lemons do I need to make one batch?
You’ll probably need 3 to 4 lemons.
Could I reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup in the frosting?
The sugar not only adds sweetness but helps stabilize the meringue. I wouldn’t reduce it.
Should the egg whites for the meringue be at room temperature?
That would probably be best.
Do you know how long before a dinner I can torch the Meringue?
You should be able to torch them whenever. They will be fine.
Hi there! I love your recipes so much, the lemon meringue cheesecake is always a hit! I am hoping to adapt this recipe for a relative who is dairy free. I’ve heard using margarine is okay for the butter, but what can you recommend for the milk in the cupcake recipe? Thanks so much!
Glad to hear you enjoy the recipes! I can’t attest to the margarine, so I’m not sure if the results will be exactly the same. As for the milk, I’d try a dairy free milk. It won’t have as much fat in it, so it could affect the texture of the cupcake a bit.
Hi Lindsay, recipe looks great! I have some cake flour that I’d like to use up. Do you think that would work with this recipe?
While it does change the texture of the cupcakes, you could use it.
Can’t wait to try these, my son requested lemon meringue cupcakes for his birthday. He wants sprinkles on them though. Do I have to torch the tops?
No, you don’t have to torch them.
I LOVE THIS RECIPE. Would it be possible to use the same ratio of ingredients to make a cake? Or do I need to tweak it a little bit especially the baking time? Thank you!!
You can make it as a cake. You can double the cupcake recipe for a cake, like I did in this cake. You will need a little more lemon curd. I’d suggest looking at this recipe, where I use lemon curd in a cake. The ratios are a little different, but it’ll give you the right amount for having two layers of curd. For the meringue, I haven’t done a whole cake in that, so it’s harder to advise. You could probably double or triple it, depending on how much frosting you want. Plus, you might want to considering making some buttercream to create dams between the cake layers to hold the lemon curd. The meringue won’t be strong enough for that. I hope that helps!
If I make them the day before, do I put them in the fridge or leave them out? Should I wait on doing the frosting part until the day of? What do you recommend? Im not a huge baker so any suggestions will help. Thank you
I made them and kept them in the fridge without any issues.
I made them. They are delish and very appealing! Thank you for this recipe of pure springtime. A couple things to point out: The batter is runny, don’t let it scare you, they bake up beautiful. My cupcakes never got golden brown, so don’t wait for that, they are done baking before they turn golden. I don’t have a cupcake corer, I used a melon baller , it worked just great. I have a lot of trouble with meringue–I can’t explain it, I follow each recipe exactly and it never turns out fluffy. I need a meringue lesson.
Found the issue. My cream of tartar was expired.
Thanks!
These are amazingly delicious cupcakes, thank you for sharing the recipe for all of us to enjoy!
Question with the meringue though, even though I whipped it to a stiff peak it still relaxes quite a bit and starts drooping down the edges. What could I be doing wrong here?
Hard to say exactly. A few possibilities are to make sure the bowl that you’re making it in is completely grease free before you start. You can rub it down with lemon juice to be sure. Another possibility is that the egg whites could be over whipped. As soon as they get to stiff peaks you want to stop mixing. Overmixing can cause it to be a little bit droopy.
I’m glad you enjoyed them!