Lemon Cupcakes with Meringue Frosting

While I was home, mom and I baked a few different things! We tried s'mores cupcakes, which were..not as good as they sound, in my opinion. I'm not going to blog about them. But I AM going to blog about the best cupcakes on the planet: These lemon cupcakes!

The cupcakes were filled with lemon curd, and then topped with meringue, which we toasted with the kitchen torch that mom got for Christmas. She got one from me and one from dad, and we liked the one he bought more..but still!
Mom asked me to rate these on a scale from 1-10. I gave them a 9/10 at first, and then decided that no, these were a 10/10. The perfect cupcake.

They're lemony without being over-the-top sour. There's also no actual frosting, so it doesn't suffer from too-sweet-frosting syndrome either! The lemon curd in the middle is enough to give the cupcake a little 'pop', while being balanced with the meringue.

Getting torched!

I regret only eating one and a half. She took them to work the next day, and they were gone. Gooone gone gone... I want more now!

We had a hard time finding the lemon curd, but I found it in the grocery store aisle where they have jelly and jam! So if you're looking for it, look there.

Lemon Cupcakes Recipe

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 package instant lemon pudding
• 1 c sour cream
• 3/4 c veggie oil
• 3/4 c water
• 4 eggs
• 1 container lemon curd

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350
• Mix everything but the lemon curd in an electric mixer on medium for two minutes.
• Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full, and bake 15-18 minutes.
• Cool completely.
• Core cupcakes, and fill with lemon curd. Use the cores of the cupcakes as caps to fill the hole.

Lemon Meringue Recipe

• 8 large egg whites
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 1/3 c sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• Pinch of salt

Preparation

• Bring 1-2" of water to boil in a saucepan.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk ingredients well. Place above the boiling water.
• Continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch, and sugar is dissolved, around 2-3 minutes.
• Move to stand mixer if available, and using the whisk attachment, beat at next-to-high speed until it holds a soft peak, around five minutes.
• Pipe onto cupcakes, and toast lightly with a kitchen torch if available.