Martha Stewart's Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

 

I both love and envy Martha Stewart in that Stepford Wives kind of way. It seems that everything she produces is perpetually picture perfect. I know that most of this is an illusion created for print and television, but I am certain that, given the opportunity to meet the woman herself, I would discover she can, on the first try, successfully bake most of the delicacies in her numerous, albeit daunting, cookbooks. 

I believe it was this blog that finally gave me the courage and inspiration to purchase one of her cookbooks and try one of the more intimidating recipes. My father selected the recipe while flipping through my new copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and making suggestions about what I try to bake next. I am not going to detail the recipe here because you can get it in its entirety on Martha's website or in her cookbook.

The cupcakes turned out luscious and delicate. The cake was incredibly moist with just the perfect lemon flavor. The strong flavor of the lemon curd was balanced nicely with the creamy meringue topping. 

While the end product was well worth the effort, assembling the many components that came together to create these cupcakes took a great deal of time and patience. If you choose to purchase Martha's cookbook, I would recommend thoroughly reading through each recipe and creating a game plan before you attempt to execute it. 

For these cupcakes, I would block off a solid three hours of kitchen time to bake and decorate. It would be prudent to make the lemon curd in advance, so that it's ready to go when you make the meringue. The curd can keep in the fridge for up to two days before you need it. The recipe calls for six lemons, but I only used five. If you purchase a larger lemons, I think you would be safe with five.

The cake component was relatively easy to put together. I got to use a microplaner for the first time and discovered that you have to be pretty aggressive to get the right amount of zest for the batter. I would not recommend using anything other than a microplaner because you risk having lemon rind mini-chunks in your cakes. A properly blended batter will be thick. The cakes took a full twenty-five minutes to bake and came out a beautiful, buttery color.

The lemon curd definately gave me some trouble. Martha's instructions were vague and neglected to offer estimated times for critical stages in the curd making process. This surprised me because other areas of her cookbook were much more specific. I heated the curd base for what I thought was an appropriate time, but it ended up not setting up in the fridge.I had to reheat the mixture and add in some sugar-free lemon Jello in order for it to set up.

Making the meringue frosting was surprisingly easy. It requires the use of a candy thermometer, so be sure you have one on hand. The frosting must be used immediately after making, so make sure you have all of the other components ready to go before you begin. Piping the meringue on the cupcakes was a delightfully messy experience. I imagine that it would be supremely fun to try with enthusiastic, sugar-loving, six-year-olds as it has a tendency to get all over the place inviting one to eat as one decorates.

Over all the flavor and consistency of the cupcakes far outweighed the problems I encountered while making these. I would make them again but only with careful planning and preparation.