These cupcakes have a zesty lemon sponge and are filled with a homemade lemon curd. They are topped off with a large amount of torched Italian meringue – any excuse to use my blowtorch on a cake!
For the Lemon Cupcakes (makes between 12 and 15)
- 150g caster sugar
- 150g margarine (I use Stork)
- 175g self-raising flour
- 3 eggs
- zest of 3 lemons
- 1 tsp baking powder
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper cases. This is an all in one recipe, so place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together until smooth. Spoon the batter into the paper cases to fill them just over half way. Bake in the oven for 15 -18 minutes until they have risen and are firm to the touch. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
For the Lemon Curd
I used a recipe by Mary Berry For the lemon curd. You can find the recipe here. I halved the recipe which made just over 1 jar of lemon curd. Once made, leave in a sterilised jar to cool.
For the Italian Meringue
- 5 egg whites
- 330g caster sugar
- 10 tbsp water
Place the egg whites ready in a mixer with a whisk attachment. In a saucepan, start to gently heat the sugar and water mixture. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat and pop your sugar thermometer in. When the mixture reaches 110℃, start whisking up the egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage. When the sugar reaches 115℃, pour carefully into the egg whites (keep the mixer whisking on a low speed). Then turn up to high speed and whisk until the mixture is stiff, glossy and has cooled down (about 10 minutes).
To assemble the cupcakes, use a serrated knife to cut a small hole in the middle of each cupcake. Then use a teaspoon to fill these holes with some lemon curd. Then you can either use a piping bag to pipe the meringue on top or use a small palette knife for a more “distressed” look. Then use a blowtorch to torch the meringue as much or as little as you like.
