Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Lemon Filling: ● 1/2 cup + 2 T. sugar ● 2 T. cornstarch ● 1/2 cup water ● 4 egg yolks ● 1 T. fresh grated lemon zest ● 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice ● 1-1/2 T unsalted butter, cut into 4 cubes

Cake: ● 1 cup ﬂour ● 1 t. baking powder ● 1/8 t. salt ● 1/2 cup butter ● 1/2 cup sugar ● 2 eggs ● 1/2 t. vanilla ● Zest of 1 lemon ● 2 T. fresh lemon juice

Italian Meringue: ● 1/2 cup water ● 1 cup sugar ● 4 egg whites ● 1/2 t. cream of tartar (optional) ● 1/2 t. vanilla

Filling: 1. Mix sugar, cornstarch and water in saucepan. Bring mixture to simmer over medium heat, whisking frequently as mixture begins to thicken. When mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, whisk in egg yolks, zest, then lemon juice, and ﬁnally butter.

2. Bring mixture to a brisk simmer, whisking constantly. Remove from heat. Transfer into small bowl and sit until lukewarm, about 30 minutes. Then cover and refrigerate until chilled through.

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 Line mufﬁn pan with paper liners.

1. Whisk together the ﬂour, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and ﬂuffy. Add eggs, vanilla and lemon zest and lemon juice.

www.HarwoodPodcast.com This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0 3. Add ﬂour and mix until just combined. Scoop into prepared pan. Bake for 18 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick. Let cakes sit in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.

Italian Meringue: 1. Mix water and sugar in small saucepan; bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Once it begins to boil, turn down to low heat and cook for 4 minutes. Set aside.

2. Beat egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.

3. With mixer running, slowly add the hot syrup into the egg whites. Add vanilla and beat for another 5 minutes, until meringue is very thick and shiny.

To assemble the cupcakes: 1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.

2. Place cupcakes on rimmed baking sheet. Use a melon baller or paring knife to cut out a small well out of the center of each cupcake.

3. Spoon or pipe lemon ﬁlling into each cupcake. Spoon dollops of meringue over the lemon ﬁlling on each cupcake.

4. Bake until the tops of the meringues brown - about 6 minutes.

Note: Store these cupcakes in the refrigerator.