About the bake
These lemon cupcakes are truly scrumptious and even better topped with meringue! We've used shop bought lemon curd for this recipe but if you have more time you can follow our classic Lemon Curd recipe to make your own. It takes an extra 25 minutes but it is well worth it. We've also added in an expert video below to show you how to create soft peaks for your meringue toppings.
Method
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C, 350°F, gas mark 4). Sit 12 paper cases into a muffin tin.
Step 2:
Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. This is easier to do with an electric whisk.
Step 3:
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated. If the mix starts to curdle add a little of the flour.
Step 4:
Fold in the flour and lemon zest until well combined.
Step 5:
Spoon into the cupcake cases. Add a teaspoonful of lemon curd to the top of each cupcake.
Step 6:
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and lightly springy. Remove the cakes from the tin and leave to cool on a cooling rack.
Step 7:
For the meringue topping, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Gradually add the sugar, whisking until stiff peaks are formed. The mixture should be thick and glossy.
Step 8:
Preheat the grill.
Step 9:
Pipe the meringue over the cupcakes and grill for 2-3 minutes, or until the meringue is golden-brown. Do not turn your back on these little cakes, the meringue can burn very quickly . If you are one who like gadgets, you could also brown the meringue with a blow torch.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 100g Butter (unsalted) (softened)
- 100g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 2 Egg(s) (free range)
- 100g Self-raising white flour
- 1 Lemon zest (unwaxed)
- 50g Lemon curd (ready made)
For the meringue topping
- 2 Egg white(s) (free range)
- 100g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
Utensils
- Cupcake case
- Muffin tin
- Large mixing bowl
- Electric whisk (optional)
- Cooling rack
Recipe Reviews
Can margarine be substituted for oil
Hello,
Yes, that should be fine. Whilst oil proves moisture to a lot of baking recipes you need your margarine substitute to be in a solid form so the proper amount of air can get incorporated
Happy Baking!
These are pretty simple to make, although the lemon curd spooned in the mixture made a lot of my cakes have holes, soggy bottoms and leakages so i would probably bake next time without and spread some on top when cooled before the meringue!
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 100g Butter (unsalted) (softened)
- 100g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 2 Egg(s) (free range)
- 100g Self-raising white flour
- 1 Lemon zest (unwaxed)
- 50g Lemon curd (ready made)
For the meringue topping
- 2 Egg white(s) (free range)
- 100g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
Utensils
- Cupcake case
- Muffin tin
- Large mixing bowl
- Electric whisk (optional)
- Cooling rack