Lemon meringue cupcakes

Listening to this song while making these cupcakes.

For the cupcake:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup low-fat buttermilk

For the lemon curd:

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 1/2 cup superfine sugar
4 eggs + 4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

For the meringue:

2 large egg white
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two cupcake pans with liners. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in lemon juice. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined.

Divide batter evenly among pans, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22-25 minutes. Let cool in pans 10 minutes, and then cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack.

While the cupcakes are cooking, make the lemon curd. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together all ingredients except butter. Place it over a small pot of simmering water, whisking constantly. When the mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon, so that when you run your finger through it the finger stripe doesn’t disappear, take if off of the pot. Add the butter and whisk until it melts. Allow to cool slightly, then transfer to a clean glass jar, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

For the meringue, put the sugar, cream of tartar, and egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water (the bowl should not be touching the water) and allow the sugar to melt into the eggs. Once warmed, add the vanilla and beat the mixture until stiff peaks form, about 3 – 5 minutes, set aside.

Turn your oven on broil at 400 degrees. Cut a cone out of your cupcake with a small, sharp knife. Fill the opening with a spoonful of lemon curd. Either cut the very top off of the cone and cover the opening, or just leave it open- either will work. Once your cupcakes are filled, cover them with a generous heap of meringue. Use the back of a spoon to create stiff peaks in your meringue, and place the cupcakes on a baking sheet. Place them in the oven and watch very carefully until the tops are just golden brown, 2-4 minutes, depending on the strength of your broiler. Don’t look away for a second! (If you have a torch, congrats on your courage, and feel free to use that instead of the oven method. It’s probably much, much easier.) Let the meringue tops cool before serving.

Recipe from Flour Child

Snow peaks (meringues)

Mmmmeringues. So snowy. So white. So clean. So complementary to the massive amounts of snowfall Boston is experiencing. Rebe made these yesterday while I was working at the bakery (The bakery? What bakery? Yeah, I work here now, it's awesome), and I couldn't resist photographing them for you all. Top them off with a lovely dollop of whipped cream, or serve with berries for a fruity twist. These meringues are hard on the outside, but the inside is made up of a soft, sugary cloud. It's bliss.

Makes 16 meringues

For the meringues:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup confectioner's sugar
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 225°F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil or wax paper. In a small bowl, combine the two sugars. In a medium-sized bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar until soft and foamy. Next, add one tablespoon at a time of the sugar mixture, beating continuously. Beat about 5 minutes, until when you pull the mixer out, the meringue holds very stiff peaks.

Using a pencil, draw sixteen 2 1/4 inch (diameter) circles on the foil or wax paper. In a piping bag with a 1/4 tip (if you don't have one, a Ziplock will do just fine! just cut a tiny slit), create swirls of meringue. Start in the center of each circle, pipe a widening spiral of meringue until each circle hits the pencil mark. Continue to pipe the swirl upwards, building the meringue into a peak, about 1 1/2 inches tall.

Bake for 2 hours. To test, remove one of the meringues from the oven and let it cool for 2 minutes. Break open the meringue to see if it's hard on the outside. The meringue should have a hard outer shell and a nice mousey cloud of goodness on the inside. Voilà!

Recipe taken from the Joy Of Cooking.