Meringue Flower Cupcakes Food

BUTTERMILK CUPCAKES WITH SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Make Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin pans.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Beat butter on medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar, until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in eggs, 1 at a time, just until blended after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, just until blended after each addition.
• Transfer batter to lined cups. Bake, rotating pans once, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 24 to 26 minutes. Cool in pans on a wire rack, 15 minutes; transfer to the rack to cool completely.
• Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Combine sugar and egg whites in a metal bowl. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water) and cook, whisking constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Whisk on medium speed with an electric mixer until flufy and cooled, 9 to 11 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium-low; add butter, one tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla and, if desired, food coloring.
• Frost cupcakes with buttercream and garnish with edible flowers.

LEMON MERINGUE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl until combined. Whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, milk, vegetable oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla in a large bowl until combined. Whisk the flour mixture into the egg mixture.
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling them to just below the rim. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Make the meringue: Beat the egg whites and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase the mixer speed to high and gradually beat in 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; beat until stiff shiny peaks form, about 3 minutes.
• Combine the remaining 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, the corn syrup and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until the mixture registers 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 6 minutes; remove from the heat. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites; increase the speed to high and beat until the meringue is fluffy and cool, about 6 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe onto the cupcakes; set aside at room temperature to firm up, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, limoncello and food coloring in a microwave-safe bowl until smooth. Microwave 1 minute, then whisk again until the sugar dissolves; let cool about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dip the meringue-covered tops of the cupcakes into the glaze, letting the excess drip off. If the glaze gets too thick, microwave 20 seconds.

SUNFLOWER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Starting at edge of an unfrosted cupcake, pipe 3 to 4 circles of petals with buttercream, working inward and overlapping, leaving center empty. Fill center with chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.

MERINGUE FLOWER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Fit pastry bag with coupler, and fill with meringue. Pipe flowers and petals onto parchment-lined baking sheets, using different tips to create a variety of shapes and sizes. (We used a leaf tip, multi-opening tip, and star tip. You will need about 16 flowers and petals per cupcake.)
• Bake until meringue is dry but not brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool on parchment on wire racks.
• Mound tops of cupcakes with frosting. Immediately arrange meringue flowers and petals on tops.

LEMON MERINGUE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Prepare the lemon cake mix according to the package instructions to make 24 cupcakes. Let cool completely.
• Using a melon baller or small spoon, scoop out a well from the top center of each cupcake. Trim the bottoms of the scooped pieces of cake to use as plugs.
• Place about 2 teaspoons lemon curd into the well of each cupcake and plug the hole with the reserved trimmed cake pieces.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. Mix the egg whites on medium-high speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the sugar and continue to beat until the egg whites are glossy and form stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.
• Fit a pastry bag with a medium to large round pastry tip. Fill the pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue in a circular motion on top of each cupcake. Transfer the cupcakes to a sheet tray. Use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue tops until nicely browned, like a toasted marshmallow.

CHOCOLATE-ORANGE MERINGUE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. Put the cocoa powder in a large bowl. Microwave the milk and water in a small microwave-safe bowl until steaming, 1 to 2 minutes; pour over the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Let cool slightly.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Whisk the sugar, vegetable oil, egg, vanilla and orange zest into the cocoa mixture, then whisk in the flour mixture.
• Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them three-quarters of the way. Bake until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to cool completely.
• Make the ganache: Microwave the chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring, until melted, about 1 minute. Let sit until thickened but still pourable, 5 minutes. Spoon over the cupcakes, gently spreading to cover. Let set 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the meringue: Whisk the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water). Cook, whisking, until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form, 5 to 8 minutes. Tint with orange food coloring. Generously spread the meringue on the cupcakes and lightly brown with a kitchen torch.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM FOR CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.
• Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.
• Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add vanilla, and beat just until combined.
• Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on the lowest speed to eliminate any air pockets, about 5 minutes. If using buttercream within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes.