Raspberry Meringue Cupcakes!

The diiiivine patisserie

I just could not seem to stop baking this weekend! And this next recipe I must admit I am very proud of. It is based on possibly the best patisserie that I've had since I've been in France this year, from a Brioche Dorée in Montepellier a few weeks ago. Imagine a lemon meringue pie, swap the lemon for raspberry and shrink it...et voila, you have a tartelette aux framboises meringuée. It might even have overtaken the tarte aux fraises in the running for best French pastry. Its only downfall is that I've hardly seen it in any patisseries. But I am still on the look-out!

Anyway, I wanted to try and recreate this beautiful patisserie in cupcake form. And judging from people's reactions, I think it was a success! I made raspberry cupcakes, topped them with home-made raspberry curd and then a final layer of meringue. Of course, again, I'm going to mention my beloved oven and tell you that with a better oven (or better yet, a grill!) these cakes would end up even yummier, because the idea is that once the cupcakes are cooked they go back under the grill for 2-3 minutes to just cook the meringue. Having said that, they tasted pretty damn good. The cake part was quite tart, but the curd and the meringue were sweet enough to make you forget about that sourness in a second. They are quite fiddly to make, but believe me, it's worth it, because it will be hard to just eat one of these little packages of loveliness!

Raspberry Meringue Cupcakes makes 12

For the raspberry curd...
Ingredients:
50g Butter
1/2 cup Raspberries (if frozen, thawed)
2 Egg Yolks, lightly beaten
150g Sugar

Method:

1. Once raspberries are fully thawed, slightly mash with a fork and strain to separate the seeds to get the juice.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar in a saucepan.
3. Pour in the egg yolks and mix until combined.
4. And in the raspberry juice and mix together.
5. On a low heat, heat until the butter is melted.
6. Once the butter is melted turn up the heat to medium, while constantly stirring. 
7. Cook for 15 minutes.
8. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes and then cover with clingfilm right to the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. 
9. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours so it can finish setting.

For the raspberry cupcakes...
Ingredients:
1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 cups Plain Flour
2 cups Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line cake tin with cases or grease cupcake holders.
2. Melt butter over low heat. 
3. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar until combined. 
4. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, so it is lukewarm.
5. Whisk in the eggs.
6. Add the milk, vanilla and baking powder and whisk again to combine.
7. Whisk in the flour until just combined.
8. Fold in the raspberries.
9. Fill each cupcake holder with mixture and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.
10. Allow to cool.
11. If using cupcake holders, remove from holders.

A lovely rasberry mess.

For the meringue...
Ingredients:
2 Egg Whites
100g Sugar

Method:

1. Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed.
2. Gradually add the sugar and whisk continuously until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed and the mixture is thick and glossy.

The coveted 4€ whisk from Casino...literally made my life!

And look! I got to use my brand spanking new hand-held whisk that made me oh-so-happy when it was bought for me!! Here's it in action...and look at its brilliant results. It certainly works!

For the raspberry meringue cupcakes...
Method:

1. Spread a thin layer of the raspberry curd on the completely cooled cupcakes.
2. Place a dollop of meringue on top of the curd.
3. Ideally, place under the grill for 2-3 minutes until the top is lightly golden. If you don't have access to a grill, place in the oven at the highest temperature until lightly golden.
4. Enjoy these wonderful raspberry treats!

Again, unfortunately I don't think you can appreciate the loveliness of these cupcakes to the full extent from these photos and they certainly wouldn't win any awards for beauty. But hey, it's not about what you look like on the outside, what's more important is what you're like on the inside right? And that's sooooo true for these beauties. Please please please take my word for it and prepare to be amazed by these little raspberry explosions!!

WARNING! A sweet tooth is necessary to fully appreciate these little raspberry wonders.