Lemon meringue cupcakes

My niece recently celebrated her fifth birthday. She unfortunately has a nut allergy, which makes it hard for my sister to indulge in my niece's sweet tooth at traditional bakeries. For her birthday party with friends, I made yellow cupcakes with an easy vanilla buttercream.

For our immediate family's celebration, I made lemon meringue cupcakes. Admittedly even I was a little skeptical about the recipe since lemon desserts can have a tendency to be cloyingly sweet. Instead these were incredibly moist and lemony. The lemon curd had the right amount of sweet and tart. The frosting was quite messy, but it was a great compliment to the cupcake. It toasted up perfectly with the culinary torch.

Easy Vanilla Buttercream

adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Makes 3 cups

20 tablespoons (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2½ cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 tsp table salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp heavy cream

In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.