Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Last night, busily in the kitchen to bake some sweet treats for work to say bon voyage to a colleague who is leaving temporary for her travelling. Lemon cupcake and with meringue icing was my contribution to my department.Yummy buttery cakes with gooey lemon in the centre and the sugary white meringue icing to even out the tangy-ness...takes even better with a cup a tea.
It was a good feeling bring treats from home.  Might re-think and let my colleagues be my guinea pigs for anything sweet ;p

This is actually a easier recipe than i used last time at New Year 's Eve, taken from 'Cupcakes' by Susannah Blake.

Makes 12
Ingredients:

Cupcake:
115g Butter/Magarine
100g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
115g Self Raising Flour
1/2 tspn Vanilla Extract
Grated zest and juice of 1 Lemon
3Tbspn Good quality Lemon curd

Frosting:

150g Caster Sugar
2 Egg Whites

1) Preheat Oven to 180C, then line the fairy-cake tin with paper cases
2) Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Sift the flour into the mixture and fold in, then stir in the lemon zest and juice.
3) Spoon a good dollop of the mixture into each paper case and make an indentation in the centre with the back of a teaspoon. Drop a dollop of lemon curd, then top with the remaining cake mixture.
4)Bake for about 17minutes until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a  wire rack to cool.
5)To decorate, put the sugar and egg whites in a bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk constantly for about 5mins until the mixture is thick and glossy and stands in peaks. Use a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle to pipe a whirl onto the top of each cake or swirl the meringue over the cakes using a spoon. The frosting will firm up as the cakes sit, so for a soft meringue, leave to set for a least 3 hours.

Happy Baking!