Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

This recipe is from 500 Cupcakes..it is the coolest little book ever! I really love anything lemon..i love the smell and the taste, it is so light and fresh, so when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it....and it was awesome!!!

Oven: 350
Makes: 1 1/2 dozen
Bake: 20 minutes


INGREDIENTS:

Cupcakes
-1 C butter; softnened
-1 C gran. sugar
-2 C cake flour
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. salt
-4 large eggs
-1/2 C buttermilk
-1 tsp. vanilla
*add in some lemon juice and zest

Filling
-1/3 C lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best)
-1 (14 oz) can condensed milk
*add in some lemon zest

Meringue
-3 egg whites
-1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
-1/3 C gran. sugar


Preheat the oven to 350. Sift flour, bak. powder, and salt together; set aside. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, then vanilla; beat well after each addition. Then alternate the flour mixture and buttermilk. Finally squeeze in some fresh lemon juice and grate in some lemon zest for an extra layer of flavor. Bake cupcakes for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick from center comes out clean. Cool completely before filling and frosting.

To fill a cupcake, make a whole in the top center and then fill with some of the filling mixture. Replace cupcake 'lid' and set aside until all cupcakes are filled.
 

After all cupcakes are filled, make the meringue and preheat the oven to 450. Frost each cupcake and then bake them in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the meringue turns golden.

And ENJOY :D