Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes

If you thought lemon meringue pie could not be improved wait until you taste these cupcakes. These Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes taste like a spring dream with a fluffy buttery cupcake generously filled with Meyer lemon curd and finished with a spectacular swirl of meringue frosting.

Always thinking about how to use an abundance of lemons this time of year, I was inspired to turn my favorite lemon meringue pie recipe, from First magazine, into a cupcake. I always loved this recipe because it had a crispy meringue topping. This Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcake is as close as I could get to my beloved pie recipe.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes are as beautiful as they are delicious.

Traditional lemon meringue pie is a bit tricky to make. The most common problems that occur with this classic are soggy bottom crusts, fillings that don’t set, and beads of moisture forming on top of the meringue, also known as “weeping.” 😭These issues occur because lemon meringue pie is temperamental: doesn’t like humidity, doesn’t like to be overmixed, undercooked, or overcooked. Here is Sunset Magazine’s explanation for some lemon meringue pie problems and another great recipe for the pie.

I think a much easier way to go is to make these luscious Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes. There are lots of reasons why a cupcake is much easier to handle than a pie and with this recipe you make the component parts of the lemon meringue pie individually in a much more manageable way. A cupcake version of lemon meringue pie is also easier to transport and serve. And these cupcakes have every bit as much of the texture and flavor of the classic dessert.

Start by preparing the Meyer Lemon Curd. This delicious card can be used in a lot of different recipes or just eaten alone or on biscuits, the English way. You will find that it is especially flavorful because you use juicy Meyer lemons. A cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange, the Meyer lemon has smooth golden skin the color of a fresh egg yolk. It also has a thin edible rind, a high volume of juice and none of the tartness of a regular lemon. Don’t stress if you can’t find Meyer lemons, regular (Eureka) lemons will work just fine. It is a good idea to make the curd the day before or at least the evening before you plan on making the cupcakes because it needs to chill in the refrigerator for several hours before use.

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Meyer Lemon Curd

Tangy, sweet and smooth lemon curd.

Ingredients

• 4 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoon lemon zest about 4 lemons
• 2/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice about 5-6 lemons
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature

Instructions

• Fill the bottom pot of your double boiler with 1-2 inches of water. Place on high heat. Once the water begins to boil, reduce to medium/low heat to keep the water at a simmer.
• Place egg yolks, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt into the top pot of your double boiler and whisk until completely blended, then continue to whisk as the curd cooks. Constant whisking prevents the egg yolks from curdling. Whisk and cook until the mixture becomes thick, resembling the texture of hollandaise sauce, about 10 minutes. If curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk.
• Remove pan from heat. Cut the butter into 6 separate pieces, then whisk into the curd. The butter will melt from the heat of the curd. Pour curd into a jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. (This prevents a skin from forming on top.) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Once cool, the plastic wrap can be removed.
• Refrigerate the curd for up to about 10 days.

Check out this instructional video on how to make the Meyer Lemon Curd. It is really quite easy.

For the cupcake I suggest using my Golden Cupcakes. This cupcake is sturdy enough to hollow out for the lemon filling/curd and doesn’t distract from the fantastic flavor of the Meyer Lemon Curd. Before you bake these cupcakes, sprinkle some chopped shortbread cookies on the top of the cake batter. This mimics the crust of a pie and adds fantastic texture to the cupcakes. I like Lorna Doone shortbread cookies because they taste a lot like a traditional sweet pie crust and are not too sweet.

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Golden Cupcakes

Versatile yellow butter cake.

Servings: 30

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature or softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups sour cream

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Beat together butter and sugar in large mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla.
• Add half the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just blended, then add sour cream, mixing until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture and mix at low speed until batter is smooth.
• Fill paper baking cups about 2/3 full and bake 15-17 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Take care to not overbake.
• Cook completely before frosting.

Although I absolutely love the meringue of my favorite lemon meringue pie recipe (see the First recipe at the beginning of this post), it is mildly sweet, light and has a crispy shell , it doesn’t work well on a cupcake because it is not very stable. When you make lemon meringue pie, one must take great care to smush the meringue to all the edges of the pie or the meringue will shrink and/or slide off the entire pie 😂. The best frosting to use for these cupcakes is a classic seven minute frosting. This frosting is a wonderful cross between meringue and marshmallow creme, light, fluffy and not-to-sweet. An added benefit is that you can store the finished cupcakes in the refrigerator for 3-4 days without the yucky weeping meringue mess that befalls traditional lemon meringue pie.

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Vintage Meringue Frosting – Seven Minute Frosting

This frosting is similar to meringue but is more stable and sturdy enough to pipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 6-7 large egg whites

Instructions

• Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with the water and corn syrup in a small saucepan, attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230 degrees.
• Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted wth the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, add remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and whisk to combine.
• As soon as the syrup reaches 230 degrees, remove from heat. Wtih mixer on medium, pour syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to high and whisk until mixture is cool, checking the bottom of the mixing bowl for temperature. Frosting should form stiff peaks. This should take about 7 minutes! Use immediately.

Assembling these Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes is fun and easy. I sampled the Meyer Lemon Curd quite a lot as I was “assembling”, love the lemon curd. YUM!!! You can use a kitchen torch to brown the Seven Minute Frosting just like the traditional meringue on a lemon meringue pie; however, using your oven on 500 degree broil works as well, if not better, in providing an even brown shell to the frosted cupcakes. Just pop the frosted cupcakes in the oven for 1-2 minutes for a beautiful toasted look.

These cupcakes are sure to be a huge hit for Mother’s Day or any celebration. I’m temped to say Spring celebration, but the lemon meringue pie is a favorite for any time of year. These cupcakes are a wonderful replacement for the favorite pie.

Each cupcake has a unique look due to the browned swirly meringue frosting. I piped these cupcakes but you could just as easily dollop a glop of the frosting on top. I think anyone who tastes these lovely lemon treats will be very very happy. 🍋

Check out some of my other cupcake creations: