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My Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Cupcakes are the perfect citrus bake, with a zesty lemon sponge and beautiful meringue top. Plus these gluten free lemon cupcakes are filled with extra lemon curd for a zesty surprise. Perfect for a summer party or picnic!
These Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes are SO delicious – they’re gluten free, coeliac-safe and easy to make dairy free too, but no-one would ever know.
Both the gluten free sponge and the meringue topping are easy to make and the result is these delicious, dessert-like lemon curd filled cupcakes.
I used the same base recipe as my gluten free lemon drizzle cupcakes but the lemon curd filling and meringue topping just finishes these off perfectly.
Lemon Meringue Pie is my absolute favourite dessert after all!
If you love this cupcake recipe, make sure you check out my Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe, my easy Lime and Coconut Cake and my zesty Gluten Free Lemon Bars.
You can definitely whip these up for any celebration, as part of a gluten free picnic or even as a treat for a gluten free lunchbox.
Ingredients and Substitutions
There’s a full printable recipe card below with all the cupcake ingredients and quantities.
But here are the main ingredients you’ll need for these Lemon Meringue Cupcakes:
- Caster Sugar – I always use caster sugar when baking cakes. In the US look for superfine sugar or baker’s sugar instead.
- Unsalted Butter – If you want to make this recipe dairy free you can substitute this for something like Stork Baking Block or a vegan margarine instead.
- Eggs – You’ll need 5 eggs in total for this recipe. Two for the cake and three (whites) for the meringue. Make sure you save the leftover yolks to add to an omelette so you don’t waste them!
- Lemons – I only use the lemon zest in this recipe but you can still use the lemons for lemon juice after, or in recipes like my lemon and courgette risotto or lemon popsicles.
- Self Raising Gluten Free Flour – I always use FREEE by Doves Farm but you can use any self-raising gluten free flour blend for this. If you don’t have self-raising flour, add 1.5 tsp of baking powder to a plain gluten free flour blend instead.
- Xanthan Gum – This is essential in gluten free baking to help with the texture. It’s not 100% necessary in cakes (but you can’t make gluten free bread or pastry without it!).
- Milk – If you’re dairy free you can use any unsweetened dairy free milk instead. I find gluten free cake batter needs a little more moisture than the ‘normal’ stuff.
- Lemon Curd – Most supermarket lemon curds are gluten free and I used around half a jar for this recipe. I absolutely love the M&S Sicilian Lemon Curd but any supermarket version will work perfectly, or use homemade lemon curd instead.
- White Wine Vinegar – Add this to your meringue to help stabilise the structure so it doesn’t collapse. If you don’t have any and don’t want to buy a whole bottle, you can work without it. This just helps a lot!
How to make Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Here’s exactly how to make my easy, gluten free lemon meringue cupcakes recipe:
For the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 180’C (170’C fan) / Gas 4. Fill a 12-hole baking tin with cupcake cases and set aside while you make the cake batter.
Add the (room temperature) butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until pale and creamy.
Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl and add the lemon zest. Beat again for 30 seconds to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula.
Sift in the self-raising gluten free flour and xantham gum, add the milk. Beat together with the electric whisk until everything is fully combined.
Spoon the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases and then place in the centre of an oven. Bake for 20-22 minutes.
The cupcakes are done when they are well-risen, golden on top, and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Take the cupcakes out of the oven, set to one side to cool slightly. Turn the oven down to 110C / Fan 90C / Gas Mark 1/4.
To make the meringue frosting:
Add the egg whites to a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until they start to form stiff peaks. This is when you can turn the bowl upside down and they won’t budge.
Add the white wine vinegar to the egg whites and then add the caster sugar gradually, while still whisking, until they form glossy peaks.
It’s done when you can rub a tiny bit of the mixture between your fingers and it doesn’t feel grainy.
Spoon the meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1M nozzle (or nozzle of choice!).
To fill and top the cupcakes:
Using a sharp knife, cut a small well in the centre of each cupcake. Fill with lemon curd (around 1 tsp per cupcake).
Pipe the meringue onto the top of the cupcakes in swirls. Place in the oven for a further 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool before eating. If you like, you can finish them off with a quick blast of the blowtorch – just mind the cake cases don’t set fire!
Do I need a blow torch for meringue?
In this recipe I use a blow torch for the meringue because let’s face it, it’s just super fun!
But you don’t have to use a blowtorch. You could put them under the grill for a minute or two to get that torched look.
I was gifted a blowtorch for Christmas and it’s been really fun to experiment with.
That being said, be careful of the paper cake cases as I accidentally set fire to a few when practising… oops!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this gluten free lemon meringue pie cupcakes recipe.
If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
Because of the lemon curd and meringue, I haven’t found a workaround if you needed to make these gluten free cupcakes vegan or egg-free.
That being said, I’ve seen people make wonderful meringues with chickpea water (aquafaba) so there could be some experimenting to be done!
To make the recipe dairy free, simply use a dairy free butter and dairy free milk in the cake recipe. Simple!
You can make and freeze the cakes before making the meringue topping and filling them with lemon curd if you need to save some time. Simply defrost then continue as instructed above.
Usually meringue is naturally gluten free, as it is made from egg whites and sugar. Sometimes white wine vinegar or corn flour (cornstarch) are added, but these are both also gluten free. It would be unusually to see a meringue with wheat flour in – but always double check. Some shop-bought meringues have a ‘may contain’ warning for wheat and gluten.
I recommend letting these lemon meringue cupcakes cool completely to room temperature, before storing in an airtight container. They should keep for up to 3 days, after that the meringue may go a bit soft.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.
Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 125 g caster sugar
- 125 g unsalted butter, (softened)
- 2 large eggs
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 125 g self raising gluten free flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 tbsp milk
- Approx 12 teaspoons lemon curd
For the meringue topping:
- 3 egg whites
- 150 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180'C (170'C fan) / Gas 4. Fill a 12-hole baking tin with cupcake cases and set aside while you make the cake batter.
- Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and creamy. (TIP: If the butter is hard, zap it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before adding it to the mixing bowl to make it easier!)
- Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl and add the lemon zest. Beat again for 30 seconds to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula.
- Sift in the self-raising gluten free flour and xantham gum, add the milk, and then beat together with the electric whisk until everything is fully combined. You want a fairly thick batter which looks light and fluffy.
- Spoon the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases and then place in the centre of an oven and bake for 20-22 minutes. The cupcakes are done when they are well-risen, golden on top, and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Take the cupcakes out of the oven, set to one side to cool slightly and turn the oven down to 110C / Fan 90C / Gas Mark 1/4.
To make the meringue topping:
- Add the egg whites to a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until they start to form stiff peaks (aka when you can turn the bowl upside down and they won't budge!).
- Add the white wine vinegar to the egg whites and then add the caster sugar 1 tbsp at-a-time while still whisking, until they form glossy peaks. You'll know it's done when you rub a tiny bit of the mixture between your fingers and it doesn't feel grainy.
- Spoon the meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1M nozzle (or nozzle of choice!).
Fill and top the cupcakes:
- Using a sharp knife, cut a small well in the centre of each cupcake. Fill with lemon curd (around 1 tsp per cupcake).
- Pipe the meringue onto the top of the cupcakes in swirls and then place in the oven for a further 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool before eating. If you like, you can finish them off with a quick blast of the blowtorch – just mind the cake cases don't set fire!
Notes
- Weighing Scales vs Cups: You can toggle this recipe card to convert the ingredients into cups. However, I always recommend using weighing scales – these are cheap to buy and much more accurate. And in gluten free baking, a tiny variation can make a huge difference!
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to guide you through how this cupcake recipe should look at each stage.
- Storing and Freezing: Check out the Frequently Asked Questions below this recipe card and blog post above for more information on making these cupcakes dairy free and storing/freezing them.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* rating and tell all your gluten free friends about this Lemon Meringue Cupcakes!
Nutrition
More gluten free lemon bakes
More gluten free cupcakes
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