For the next Martha challenge, I decided to try her Meyer Lemon cupcakes, in honor of Easter/Spring. You see, in her book, the lemon curd sits on top of the cupcakes, which makes it look like an egg yolk. Since Springtime is all about re-birth, eggs are a perfect symbol.
First step, make meyer lemon curd. I love lemon curd, but have never made it. It's like a custard, lots of egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice. I was pleased to find Meyer Lemons at Whole Foods, which are a cross between an orange and a lemon, so they're not as tart as regular lemons. I followed the directions for the curd, but I don't think I let it cook long enough. It was thinner than I expected, and I figured it would firm up in the fridge, but it didn't get thick enough. The direction don't say how long to cook it for, just "until thick". That's kinda vague.
Anyhoo, the cupcakes turned out great, altho it's a big recipe. I got 36, but Martha says it makes 42. They were so buttery and lemony and rather dense. It's almost like a pound cake. Smells so good!
Now, for the final steps. The recipe says to sprinkle with powdered sugar and then fill the cupcakes with curd, letting it seep out the top to form a pool. I did this a bit different. Since I'd be serving them the next day, I made a traditional vanilla buttercream, and piped it in a circle around the edge of the cupcake. And since my curd was too thin, I couldn't pipe it at all, so I just dolloped about a tablespoon on top, inside the frosting. The white and yellow really made it look like a fried egg.
So, my husband was supposed to take these to work today, but he was sick, so now I have 36 cupcakes that I don't know what to do with. Anyone want some? Come and get them!
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