“I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade… And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka and have a party. ” – Ron White

And if you’re hungry, consider making lemon meringue cupcakes. I was super excited to make these. What a great concept, lemon meringue in cupcake form.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Megan from My Baking Adventures picked this recipe out of Martha Stewart’s book Cupcakes for March.  I’ve been looking forward to this one, but unfortunately these did not live up to my expectations.  It’s like when someone tells you about a fabulous new movie, and because your expectations are through the roof, when you finally get to the movie theater, you’ve set yourself up for disappointment.

What I wasn’t loving was the cake part of the cupcake. I’m finding that Martha’s cupcakes are very dense, like a lot of cakes from scratch. I tend to favor the light texture from a boxed mix (Martha would cringe, I know!). I grew up on Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker, what can I say. If made from scratch, it better be moist!

There were a few successes with this recipe though ~ First off, the lemon curd… Amazing! I’d eat this alone for dessert. Second, I was able to whip up Martha’s seven-minute frosting without using a candy thermometer. I’m sure it was a bit of luck. This frosting is like meringue in texture and shine, and was the perfect choice for this cupcake.

Next time around, I would make a moister white cake with lemon zest and a bit of lemon juice. I would make the same lemon curd, and still use this icing, and that would be better! I loved the look of these cupcakes and actually opted against using the torch to brown them a bit. And I rarely pass up an opportunity to use the torch. I liked the white and shiny look of these .

One of the rules of this group is that we do not post the recipes. But I did a little searching and discovered that Martha has a very similar recipe for lemon curd on her site. And the recipe for her seven minute frosting is on there too.

This frosting is more stable than meringue which alllows for piping. What’s Cooking America has great tips on making meringue, which also apply to this frosting. Do you know which eggs are best? Why they should be room temp? Ever lose an egg shell in the bowl and fish it out with your fingers? What’s Cooking America tells you why that may completely mess up the whipping process.