| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 55 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 12 cupcakes |
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 large egg whites
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- Pinch cream of tartar
- Pinch fine salt
- 1 to 2 drops pastel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- In another medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the butter and then the vanilla.
- While mixing slowly, add half the dry ingredients, then add all the milk, and follow with the rest of the dry ingredients. Take care not to over mix the batter. Divide the batter evenly in the prepared tin (about 1/3 cup batter per cup cake.)
- Bake until a tester inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove. Cool on the rack completely.
- For Meringue: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a mixer’s bowl above the water. Whisk the egg whites, sugar, lemon juice and zest, cream of tarter and salt in the bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar dissolves, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until meringue is cool and holds a soft peak, about 5 minutes. Add a few drops of desired food coloring and continue beating until it holds stiff peaks.
- To decorate: Using a spoon, offset spatula or piping bag, dollop, spread or pipe meringue on top of each cupcake. Use the back of a spoon to create peaks and valleys in the cupcake as desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 271 |
| Total Fat | 13 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 23 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 63 mg |
| Sodium | 143 mg |
Reviews
Amazing cupcakes! Frosting very versatile, i left out lemon and added vanilla bean with vanilla extract! Great!
The cupcakes were AMAZING!! Very moist and full of flavor. These are the best cupcakes I have ever tasted. I only had salted butter so I used that and took out the salt. I wasn’t able to get the meringue to peak (I had a little egg yolk sneak in, but everyone still loved the taste of it. It was more of a glaze for me.
Frosting only — Very simple, and quick. It whipped-up to be a gorgeous glossy white fluff, which I piled high onto twenty cupcakes. The consistency is so creamy and light; wonderful alternative to traditional heavy sickly-sweet cake icings. I did not use lemon this time, but vanilla instead. It is delicious, easy, and beautiful.
Cupcake is wonderful, But as the other person said I had a Meringue fail…
the cake is good, i just had a Meringue fail
The recipe honestly is not the best. The cupcakes came out very dry, my husband compared them to a very dry cornbread! 🙁 We have a birthday party this weekend and he told me please dont make this recipe. He went and bought pillsbury yellow cake mix. They are many recipes out there. I recommend for any recipe, specially cakes, try them first before taking them to a party. 🙂
These are great! Delicious and beautiful!
My first time making both the frosting and cupcake – didn’t have a problem with dryness. I’m a photographer professionally with an obsession with cooking/baking, so I made them to photograph for my portfolio. They’re just too much fun!
I did not make the cupcakes, but used the frosting. This reminds of the 7 minute frosting I used to make only easier. Love it… I did not flavor it with lemon, but used chopped maraschino cherries that was squeezed dry. I put this on a cherry cake. It was a hit. This is my new favorite frosting. Thank you for the recipe.
I am a devout food network baker and this is the first bad review I have given a recipe thus far. I was so excited to make these cupcakes, but unfortunately they were terrible. I followed the recipe precisely, and what resulted were very dry cupcakes (because there is so much butter and everything else…yet only 1/2 cup of milk and 2 eggs? the batter was oddly very thick), and the frosting was mediocre and almost tasteless. Don’t waste your time on these cupcakes – there are numerous better recipes you can try.