Lemon meringue cupcakes

It is well known that lemon curd and meringue are a super successful combination. Patri, author of Sabores y Momentos , has thought of it to prepare some lemon curd and meringue cupcakes , and the result has been spectacular. Don't miss it!

As November begins, the oven is already on almost every day at home. During the week, it's for more everyday dishes, but when the weekend comes, we love to indulge ourselves! Cupcakes had their moment of glory years ago and even today they continue to be the sweet and sophisticated little morsel that we see at many celebrations. But let's not think that we can't enjoy them at home on any given Saturday!!

Now you'll see what a delicious treat I have for you to prepare at home and leave you all with your mouths open! Some fluffy muffins will be our base , filled with a velvety lemon cream made with organic lemons and free-range eggs; and as a finishing touch, a Swiss meringue with lemon zest and lightly toasted to make the bite irresistible.

Who's going to resist them?

Tokyo Design Studio Nezumi Ceramic Plate , Tokyo Design Studio Nezumi Ceramic Bowl , Bérard Flour Scoop and KitchenAid Artisan Food Processor .

Ingredients

For the sponge cake base:

• 200gr of sugar
• 115g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 200gr of flour
• 1 teaspoon and ½ of yeast
• 1 tablespoon organic lemon zest
• 120ml semi-skimmed milk

For the lemon curd*:

• 75ml of lemon juice (the equivalent of 2-3 lemons) from the garden
• 3 eggs
• 140gr of sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 55gr unsalted butter
• 3-4 sage leaves

For the meringue:

• 4 egg whites
• 200gr of sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Elaboration:

1. Preheat the oven to 180º (160º if it is a fan-assisted oven). Prepare the special muffin tray with the paper cases.
2. In a bowl, sift the flour with the yeast and set aside.
3. Using our KitchenAid and the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until well combined and the mixture turns light in color. Add the eggs one by one, beating well to incorporate them. Next, add half of the flour and the lemon zest, beat at medium speed and add the milk, beat again and then add the rest of the flour and continue beating for a couple of minutes at low speed until you have a homogeneous mixture.
4. Using a standard-sized ice cream scoop , we will distribute the mixture into the capsules.
5. We bake for about 20-22 minutes depending on your oven.

Lemon Curd

1. Meanwhile, prepare the lemon curd. To do this, start by preparing the lemon juice with the lemons at room temperature to get a larger quantity (you can use a manual juicer or a lemon press ).
2. Pour the juice into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Add the eggs and sugar and beat with a whisk . Add the sage leaves and stir gently until the mixture begins to thicken (approximately 13-15 minutes) or reaches a temperature of 70º.
3. Once we have the desired texture (remember that it will thicken even more as it cools) remove from the heat and add the chopped butter and lemon zest . Stir well and transfer to the airtight glass jar in which we will store it, having previously passed it through the strainer to leave a cream with a fine and velvety texture. Let it cool to fill the cupcakes with it.
4. Once they are ready, we take them out of the oven and let them cool for a couple of minutes, then remove them from the tray and place them on a rack until they cool.

Mounting

1. Once the cupcakes are cold, we will use a knife to cut a hole that reaches just halfway up the cake and we will fill it with the lemon cream.

Pallarès carbon steel knife , Nezumi ceramic plate by Tokyo Design Studio and Luigi Bormioli airtight glass jar .

Swiss Meringue

1. Next, we begin to make the Swiss meringue. We put the egg whites and sugar in a glass or aluminium bowl, preferably, and we submerge this in a pot on the stove with a little water at a gentle boil (without splashing the egg whites).
2. Using a hand whisk, beat gently and constantly until the egg whites reach a temperature of 65º. To do this, use a kitchen thermometer , but if you don't have one, be careful not to burn yourself by taking a pinch of the mixture between your fingers. It will be ready when it is smooth and you can't feel the sugar grains.
3. We remove the saucepan from the heat and take out the glass bowl with the egg whites, then pour them into our KitchenAid bowl. and with the whisk attachment we begin to beat at medium speed for about 5-7 minutes or until we see that it is firm. We add the lemon zest and carefully put it in a pastry bag with a rather large nozzle to be able to make the top of our cupcakes .
4. The final touch is given with a kitchen torch, lightly toasting the surface of the meringue to give it a photo finish!!!

Tokyo Design Studio Nezumi ceramic plate and Le Creuset non-stick muffin pan .