Lemon Meringue Cupcakes Recipe

For the Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-count cupcake tin with paper liners and set aside.
2. Mix the cake mix, water, lemon juice, lemon zest, oil, and eggs in a large bowl.
3. Fill each well of the prepared cupcake tin ¾ full of batter. Place the tin into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Once baked, remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the FIlling

1. While the cupcakes cool, make the filling: In a large saucepan, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together. Whisk in the water, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking the whole time. Once the mixture has boiled, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.
2. Place the egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl, and whisk in half of the heated mixture. Once they are next and smooth, whisk the egg yolk mixture into the remaining heated mixture in the saucepan. Return to the heat, stirring the entire time until it is thickened, about 2-4 minutes. Once it has thickened, remove it from the heat and pour it into a heat safe bowl to cool.

For the Meringue

1. While the filling cools, make the meringue: Place the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium-low speed for about 2 minutes, or until a micro foam begins to form on the top of the egg whites.
2. With the mixer still running, add in the cream of tartar and salt. Continue whisking until the microfoam has increased in size slightly. Again, with the mixer still going, slowly pour in the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and whisk for 6-8 minutes, or until a stiff meringue has formed and soft peaks are visible. Add the vanilla and continue whisking for an additional 2 minutes. At this point, the peaks should be stiff enough to hold a peak yet soft enough that the end of the peak droops slightly when you pull the whisk out of the meringue. Once you have achieved this, the meringue is ready.

Assembly

1. Once the lemon curd filling has cooled almost to room temperature or cooler, spoon it into a piping bag. Fill a piping bag fitted with your preferred tip with the meringue.
2. Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a piping tip to remove the center of the cupcake by pressing down almost until the tip is level with the top of the cupcake. Wiggle the piping tip back out of the cupcake and run a toothpick around the inside of the piping tip to remove the cupcake piece and set aside in a bowl to use later. Once all of the cupcakes have a hollow center, fill almost to the top with lemon curd filling. Replace the piece of cupcake back into the center on top of the lemon curd and press down firmly until it is almost flush with the top of the cupcake.
3. Pipe meringue onto the top of each cupcake. Using a kitchen torch or even a camping torch, be sure to keep the flame about 2 inches away from the meringue. Heat the meringue until it is browned and toasted to your liking. Remember, the meringue will catch on fire and burn like a marshmallow will if the heat is prolonged or too close, so be sure not to linger too long in one spot. Also, remember the cupcake liners will also burn if the heat is too close to them.
4. Once the cupcakes are filled and the meringue is toasted, the cupcakes are ready to serve.