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!