These lemon meringue cupcakes are filled with homemade lemon curd and topped with fluffy toasted Swiss meringue! They taste just like classic lemon meringue pie but in cupcake form! They're the perfect summer treat!
You might also like these lemon curd cookies, these key lime curd cupcakes, or these pumpkin meringue cupcakes!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make these lemon meringue cupcakes!
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 Juice & Zest - I highly recommend using fresh lemons for the best flavor! But you can always substitute with a little bottled lemon juice if necessary.
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!
Eggs - You need egg yolks to make the lemon curd and the leftover egg whites to make the Swiss meringue.
Cream of Tartar - This helps stabilize the egg whites for the meringue!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
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 serve it with homemade crepes or scones!
*If your lemon curd is not thickening with the double boiler, you can transfer to a pot to cook over direct heat for a couple minutes until it fully thickens.
How to Make Lemon Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup 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.
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!
I recommend making the meringue right before it's time to serve the cupcakes for best results!
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.
You'll notice the mixture is lighter in color and increased in volume.
Note: Depending on the type of bowl you use, it may take longer for the swiss meringue to cool. A stainless steel mixer bowl is best (they cool the fastest and are the most heatproof)!
Place the bowl on the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on medium low speed for 2-3 minutes and gradually increase the speed until the mixture reaches soft peaks and the bowl is no longer warm to the touch. Then increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.
Pipe the meringue over the filled lemon cupcakes.
Then use a culinary blowtorch to lightly toast the meringue.
Serve the lemon meringue cupcakes immediately and enjoy!
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 curd cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
Use a cupcake corer to easily remove the center of your cupcakes before filling with lemon curd.
For these big beautiful frosting swirls on these lemon meringue cupcakes, I use the 1M tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
Once the Swiss 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. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
I highly recommend getting a culinary blowtorch to toast the meringue for these lemon meringue cupcakes. But if necessary, you can place them under the broiler for about 30 seconds, just be careful because the meringue will burn quickly.
I'm partial to homemade lemon curd, but you can absolutely use your favorite store-bought lemon curd instead.
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.
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Recipe Card
Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Special Equipment
- double boiler
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ 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
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract paste, optional
- 1 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup whole milk, substitute sour cream
Swiss Meringue
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
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. *If your lemon curd still is not thickening with the double boiler, you can transfer to a pot to cook over direct heat for a couple minutes until it fully thickens.
- 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 serve it with homemade crepes or scones!
Lemon Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup 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.
- 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
- I recommend making the meringue right before it's time to serve the cupcakes for best results!
- 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.
- You'll notice the mixture is lighter in color and increased in volume.
- Place the bowl on the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on medium low speed for 2-3 minutes and gradually increase the speed until the mixture reaches soft peaks and the bowl is no longer warm to the touch. Then increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Pipe the meringue over the filled lemon cupcakes.
- Then use a culinary blowtorch 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.
Alyssa says
loved the cupcakes! I didn't use any lemon paste and it came out amazing. can't wait to make these again. The lemon curd is amazing!
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!