Lemon Meringue, that makes you Merengue

One of my favorite flavors of pie is Lemon Meringue. I always associate it with my late grandfather, Solomon. His birthday was on January 1st, so every year, on his birthday, the family would get together and my aunt would make a couple of lemon meringue pies because it was his favorite, too. I've made a few lemon meringue pies in the past, but don't necessarily LOVE baking them. They are very time consuming, one dirties lots of dishes, and if not timed out perfectly, something will go wrong. With a house full of kids, I can't always dedicate 100% of my attention on something in the kitchen because the next thing I know, someone is fighting or crying over something and I have to go break it up! Anyway, this past weekend my family got together for a Father's Day thing and my aunt brought a lemon meringue pie! Talk about flash back. Since there was only 1 pie and lots of people, I didn't have an entire piece, I just swiped a few bites from my Abuela's plate. Needless to say, it was delicious, and it inspired this week's cupcake. This one's for you, Buelo!!

Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcake
Inspired by BH&G 150 Cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
4 eggs yolks
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c milk
1/4 c purchased lemon curd
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
For the garnish/meringue:
4 egg whites
3-4 Tbsp purchased lemon curd
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2/3 c granulated sugar
powdered sugar
Separate eggs. Let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Prep your cupcake pans with liners. You'll get about 15 out of this recipe. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl combine milk and 1/4 c lemon curd. Whisk until almost smooth. (You'll still have a few lumps of curd in there!)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat butter for about 30 seconds, then add granulated sugar. Beat for about 1 minute at med-high speed, then reduce to medium and add yolks and vanilla. Beat to combine, then scrape down your bowl. Alternately add your flour mixture and your milk mixtures, starting & finishing with the flour. Beat at low until just combined. Remove from mixer and mix through a couple of times with spatula.
Scoop batter into prepared cupcake tray, filling about 2/3 full. Batter is pretty thick, so use an offset spatula to smooth out tops. Pop into oven and bake 15-17 minutes until just beginning to turn golden, and they spring back when you touch the tops.
While those bake, scoop about 3-4 Tbsp lemon curd into a pastry bag, snip the tip, and set aside. Wash out your mixer bowl REALLY well, then whip egg whites and cream of tartar together at medium speed, until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high, and gradually add granulated sugar, about 1 Tbsp at a time. Whip until stiff peaks form. You can put meringue into a parchment bag, or you can just dollop onto cupcake, your choice!
When cupcakes come out of oven, place them on a cooling rack, then pipe a small pile of curd onto each cupcake. I stuck the tip of the bag into the cupcake to get a little bit inside the cake. Once you do that, either dollop your meringue on top, or pipe it on top of the curd pile. Place the cupcakes back into the oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until meringue begins to brown on top. Remove from oven, an cool on rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and allow to cool for another 35-40 minutes. You can enjoy these now, or pop them into the fridge and chill until serving!

Blue Suede... Cupcake!

We took a vacation the 2nd week of June and got home the morning of Father's Day. Needless to say, I wasn't really in the mood to bake anything that day, as I was completely exhausted! Lucky for me, the kids were understanding and didn't insist that we bake a Father's day treat for dad until Tuesday. When I asked them what they wanted to make, my daughter said we needed to make something blue, since dad is a boy. I suggested this recipe, and she jumped on board instantly. She is a big Red Velvet fan, so anything with the word 'velvet' catches her attention. Plus, I'd never made this recipe before, so I was able to experiment with with something new.

Blue Velvet Cupcakes
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

For the cupcakes:
2 c granulated sugar
1 c unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 Tbsp liquid blue food coloring
1 Tbsp dutch processed cocoa (I used Valrhona, available at Sur La Table
2 1/2 c cake flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 c buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp white vinegar

For the frosting:
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 Tbsp water
2 lbs powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep your cupcake pans.
In a medium bowl, combine your flour and salt. Set aside. In your mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add your eggs, one at a time, incorporating very well. IN a small bowl, combine cocoa with food coloring, creating a paste, then add it to your mixer. Scrape down your bowl. With mixer on low speed, slowly begin alternately adding your flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.Remove bowl from mixer and give it a few stirs, to make sure flour is completely mixed in. Combine soda and vinegar in a small bowl to create a foam, then stir into batter.

Using  your trusty scoop, scoop batter into prepared cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

For your icing, combine vanilla, cream cheese, and 2 Tbsp water.  Beat for about 1 minute, then slowly  begin adding powdered sugar. Beat to incorporate, adding water if necessary to reach your desired consistency. Spread or pipe onto cupcakes, then enjoy!

The Kaskake

A while back I baked a cupcake in honor of my friend Mike's birthday. He drove into town for his birthday, and as much as I wanted to go out and have a drink in honor of his birthday, I couldn't. I have 3 kids at home and going out is pretty much unheard of anymore. To make up for the lack of night life, I put together this cupcake, adapted from 1 Fine Cookie. Not only was there beer in the cupcake and frosting, I sprinkled BACON on top. Hello, man's best friend!

( I know I posted a pic of this a few months ago, but I saved it as a cupcake of the week post for a week that I would be on vacation, that way, I wouldn't miss one! )

Without further adieu...




The Kaskake
adapted from 1 Fine Cookie

For the cupcake:

1 1/2 c cake flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 c packed light brown sugar
1 16oz can/bottle of beer - I used Stella Artois

For the frosting:
1 c unsalted butter
5 c confectioners sugar
4-6 Tbsp of same beer used in cupcake

For the garnish:
Crispy bacon, diced

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and prep your cupcake trays with liners.
In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In your mixer, cream brown sugar and butter together. Add your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once well blended, begin alternating the addition of your drys and your beer, starting and ending with the drys. Mix on low until just combined, then remove from mixer.

Scoop batter into cupcake liners and bake 12-15 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool these for 10 minutes in the trays, then remove to wire rack. While they cool completely, prepare your frosting.

Beat butter, and 3 Tbsp beer, until creamy. Add powdered sugar to bowl. Beat until smooth, adding more beer, if needed to reach your desired consistency. Once cupcakes are completely cool, spread, or pipe onto your cupcakes. I didn't want to over-do it with the frosting, so I used a tip to pipe thin lines of frosting over cupcakes, making them look like spaghetti. Once they were frosted to my liking, I sprinkled bacon over top.

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Grass-Hoppin'

Going into the week I was unsure what I wanted to make. I knew I wanted something light, due to the ridiculous heat we have had lately. I remembered that my mother-in-law makes a yummy grasshopper cake for summer gatherings, so I thought - Why not??? The result was light and refreshing. Even though the cake is chocolate, the whipped topping balances it out wonderfully so one could easily eat 2 or 3 of these and not feel overwhelmed. Hope you agree!

Grasshopper Cupcake
Inspired by BH&G 150 Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
3/4 c unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 c milk
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 c sugar
3 tbsp creme de menthe
1 tsp vanilla

For the frosting:
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 c heavy whipping cream
1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp creme de menthe

In a small saucepan, combine milk and chopped chocolate. Cook and stir over medium heat until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool.

Prep cupcake trays and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. In your mixer bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds, then gradually add sugar, about 1/4 c at a time, until creamy. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Drop mixer speed to low and add eggs, one at a time. Beat in creme de menthe and vanilla. With mixer still on low, alternately add drys and chocolate milk mixture, ending with dry's. Once combined, mix for another 20 seconds, then turn off mixer.

Batter will be thin, so carefully scoop it into your cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 17 minutes, or until cake bounces back when lightly touched. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then cool completely on wire racks.

While cupcakes cool, prep your frosting. In a 1-cup  measuring cup, add 1 tsp of gelatin to 2 tbsp cold water. Let stand for 2 minutes, meanwhile, bring about 3 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Place measuring cup into boiling water, and stir until gelatin mixture dissolves completely. Remove from heat.

In your mixer bowl, combine whipping cream, 1/4 c sugar, and creme de menthe and begin to whip with whisk attachment. Slowly drizzle warm gelatin over whipped cream, while beating constantly. Continue to beat until stif peaks form.

Spread or dollop on top of cupcakes. Garnish with a Hershey Kiss, if desired. Enjoy!!