Toasted Lemon Blackberry Meringue Cupcakes are one of my favorite desserts I’ve made to date! These are absolutely stunning and equally delicious, and are the perfect dessert to impress. The cupcake itself is made of a lemon base filled with blackberry compote, and decorated with toasted meringue. Note to self, be careful with a kitchen torch – I may have learned that the hard way. Garnish with lemon slices or blackberries and enjoy!
Lemon and Blackberry Cupcakes with Toasted Meringue
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (188g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp (113g)
- 1/2 cup whole milk (120ml)
- 2 large eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- zest and juice from two lemons
Blackberry Compote
- 2 cups fresh blackberries (250g)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Meringue
- 3 large egg whites
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar (70g)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- First, make the blackberry compote, as this will need time to chill.
- In a medium saucepan, add the blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch, and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring as needed to keep the berries from burning. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the compote thickens. During this time, the berries should break apart and release their juices, but it's ok to help it along with the back of your spatula too. This process can take a while, so just be patient and allow it to thicken, it'll be pretty apparent when it has thickened up. And don't forget, it will thicken more upon cooling as well.
- Once done, pour into a heat proof bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes at room temp before covering with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap down to the surface of the compote, and refrigerating until chilled and thickened. This can be done days in advance to make cupcake preparation easier.
- To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until on medium-high light and whipped, ~2 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, until combined.
- Place the mixer on low speed, and slowly add the dry ingredients, stopping once just combined, you don't want to over mix. Keep the mixer going on low while you slowly stream in the milk, lemon juice, and then the lemon zest, and continue mixing until the batter is homogenous.
- Fill the cupcake liners ~2/3-3/4 full, and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes before cooling to room temp on a wire rack.
- Before making the meringue, use a small paring knife to hollow out the core of the cupcakes, making sure not to poke all the way through the bottom, the same as done in my nutella cupcakes found here.
- To make the meringue, add the eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer and whip with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until they begin to become foamy, then add the cream of tartar. Continue whipping until soft peaks, then slowly stream in the sugar, followed by the salt, and then once all the ingredients have been added, turn the speed up all the way and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
- To assemble the cupcakes, use a small spoon to fill the cupcake holes with blackberry compote, and then pipe the meringue carefully over top. If you have a kitchen torch, you can then carefully toast the meringue, though take care as the meringue will quickly go from toasted to burnt. Garnish with a blackberry or a small piece of a lemon slice.
- Enjoy!
