One of my favorite summer desserts in lemon meringue pie! So I decided why not try to make it in cupcake form? These lemony cupcakes are filled with homemade lemon curd and topped with fluffy toasted Swiss meringue!
You might also like these lemon curd cookies or these pumpkin meringue cupcakes!
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Ingredient Notes
- Cake flour - I always use cake flour in my cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
- Lemon extract - When you're baking, you never want to add to much acid because it can effect how your baked goods rise. This poses a problem with lemon desserts. The best way to get all the lemon flavor with none of the acidity is lemon extract! I prefer the paste, but you can also get it in a liquid form. You should be able to find it in the baking aisle at your local grocery store!
- Lemon juice & zest - I highly recommend using fresh lemons for your lemon curd for the best flavor! But you can always substitute with a little bottled lemon juice if necessary.
- Egg yolks - Lemon curd is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover egg yolks from all my macarons!
Homemade Lemon Curd
First make the lemon curd! You can check out my full post on how to make lemon curd for extra tips and tricks! I also talk about how to make a double boiler and why you should never use metal when making lemon curd!
Note: I highly recommend making the lemon curd the night before you make the cupcakes so that it has time to fully cool/set.
Create a double boiler by bringing 1-2 inches of water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Place a heatproof glass bowl on top and make sure it's not touching the water.
Add the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt into the top of your double boiler.
Whisk until completely combined and then continue to whisk as the lemon curd cooks (constant whisking prevents the lemon curd from curdling). Continue to whisk the lemon curd for 10-15 minutes or until it become thick and paler in color (it should be similar to the consistency of hollandaise sauce). If the lemon curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk.
Once thickened, remove the glass bowl from the heat. Cut the butter into chunks and whisk into the lemon curd until fully combined and smooth.
If desired, pass through fine mesh strainer and then pour into a glass jar. Let cool to room temperature and then cover and store in the fridge for up to a week.
You'll almost certainly have some leftover lemon curd, so you can use it to make these lemon poppy seed macarons or serve it with homemade scones!
How to Make Lemon Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon extract together until combined.
Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thin.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full). Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack. Let cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of cooled lemon curd.
How to Make Swiss Meringue
Lemon meringue pie is typically baked with the meringue on top, which is what cooks the egg whites. However, since that won't work with cupcakes, we're using Swiss meringue. Swiss meringue is cooked lightly over a double boiler before whipping which adds stability to the meringue and also makes it safe to eat!
To make meringue, you really need a stand mixer. A hand mixer will do in a pinch, but be forewarned that your arm will get tired!
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the sugar and cream of tartar into the egg whites then set the bowl over a saucepan filled with about two inches of simmering water over medium heat. Do not let the bottom of the egg whites bowl touch the water. Whisk the whites and sugar constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture has thinned out (about 3-4 minutes). If using an instant thermometer, it should read about 160°F.
- Place the bowl on the stand mixer and fit with the whisk attachment. On medium-high speed, beat the mixture until soft peaks form. Then add in the vanilla extract and beat on high until stiff peaks form and the meringue is no longer warm to the touch, at least 10-15 minutes. If it’s still not reaching stiff peaks, stop the mixer, place the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes, then return to the mixer and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Note: Depending on the type of bowl you use, it may take longer for the swiss meringue to cool. I have glass, stainless, and ceramic KitchenAid bowls and I've found the stainless cools fastest.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
- Make sure you let the lemon meringue cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
- Use a cupcake corer to easily remove the center of your cupcakes before filling with lemon curd.
- To decorate all of my cakes and cupcakes, I use this Wilton Decorating Kit and I love it! It’s super easy to use and has a ton of tips in different sizes. To pipe the meringue on these lemon cupcakes, I used the 1M tip.
- Once the meringue is piped, use a culinary blow torch to lightly toast the meringue.
Recipe FAQ's
These cupcakes will last in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I highly recommend getting a culinary blowtorch to toast the meringue for these lemon cupcakes. But if necessary, you can place them under the broiler for about 30 seconds, just be careful because the meringue will burn quickly.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Recipes You Might Like
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Recipe Card
Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Equipment
- double boiler
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
Lemon Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract paste, optional
- 1 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup whole milk
Swiss Meringue
- 5 large egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
Lemon Curd
- I recommend making the lemon curd the night before you make the cupcakes so that it has time to fully cool.
- Create a double boiler by bringing 1-2 inches of water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Place a heatproof glass bowl on top and make sure it's not touching the water.
- Add the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt into the top of your double boiler. Whisk until completely combined and then continue to whisk as the lemon curd cooks (constant whisking prevents the lemon curd from curdling). Continue to whisk the lemon curd for 10-15 minutes or until it become thick and paler in color (it should be similar to the consistency of hollandaise sauce). If the lemon curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk.
- Once thickened, remove the glass bowl from the heat. Cut the butter into chunks and whisk into the lemon curd until fully combined and smooth. If desire, pass through fine mesh strainer and then pour into a glass jar. Let cool to room temperature and then cover and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Lemon Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon extract together until combined.
- Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thin.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full). Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack. Let cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of cooled lemon curd.
Swiss Meringue
- Create a double boiler by bringing 1-2 inches of water to a simmer in a small saucepan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the sugar and cream of tartar into the egg whites then set the bowl over your double boiler. Do not let the bottom of the egg whites bowl touch the water.
- Whisk the whites and sugar constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture has thinned out (about 3-4 minutes). If using an instant thermometer, it should read about 160°F.
- Place the bowl on the stand mixer and fit with the whisk attachment. On medium-high speed, beat the mixture until soft peaks form. Then add in the vanilla extract and beat on high until stiff peaks form and the meringue is no longer warm to the touch, at least 10-15 minutes. If it’s still not reaching stiff peaks, stop the mixer, place the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes, then return to the mixer and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
- Frost cooled cupcakes. I used a Wilton 1M tip for these photos. After frosting, use a culinary blow torch to lightly toast the meringue.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
It looks incredibly delicious. I wish this were in front of me.
Jere Cassidy says
I love Swiss meringue and glad to have your recipe to try. These cupcakes are gorgeous.
Chef Dennis says
These Lemon Meringue Cupcakes are making me drool!
Raquel says
The lovely meringue topping is everything! Beautiful and delicious!
Amy Roskelley says
I know it takes practice, but I've been getting so good at meringue! I can't wait to try this lemon meringue cupcake!
Lara says
What a great idea to use extra lemons! They look amazing!
Alexandra says
Wow 🙂 These cupcakes are absolutely gorgeous and so delicious!