Hi there! Today I mBakinga Meringue topped Vanilla Cupcake.
Why I tried this recipe
I wanted to make some cupcakes with a creme patissiere (AKA pastry cream) filling. However, that would leave me with some extra egg whites. Not wanting to save them for another day, I decided to try my hand at making some meringues and top the vanilla cupcakes with those.
Ideally, the meringue would provide a crisp crunch and a chewy interior. The cupcake would provide for a soft fluffy base while the pastry cream would be a flavour surprise hidden within the cupcake.
The recipes I referenced were:
Creme Patissiere (Pastry Cream) from Thomas Joseph.
Experiences from trying this Meringue topped Vanilla Cupcake
I was very intrigued at the method Thomas suggested to make his pastry cream. Most creme patissiere recipes would call for warming the milk and then slowly add it to some egg yolks, mixing vigorously the entire time to temper it. However, Thomas suggested incorporating the cold eggs with the cold milk before warming up the entire mixture. I am happy to report that it worked out perfectly for me. The pastry cream came together very easily for me and there was no need to pour any hot liquids from one bowl to another. Any scrambled eggs that may have accidentally been formed could easily be separated out by pouring the mixture through a sieve. Luckily, mine had no lumps of scrambled egg in mine during my attempts.
The vanilla cupcakes were similar to those in my previous post. However, I added a teaspoon of treacle to the fine sugar during the creaming of the butter and sugar. You may use an equal amount of brown sugar instead of the fine sugar as done by Jemma in her original recipe. It provides for a very subtle salted caramel taste in my opinion.
The meringues were the last component of this 3 part adventure. It was extremely important that the beater and the mixing bowl were clean before starting to whisk the egg whites. Any traces of detergent or oil left on the equipment would increase the chance of the meringues failing. Hence, it is common to wipe down the beater and the mixing bowl with some vinegar as an added insurance step before beginning to whip the whites.
Adding the fine sugar a spoonful a time helps by retaining as much as in the egg whites as possible. The meringues should end up looking very glossy when they are done.
Overall thoughts about the Meringue topped Vanilla Cupcake
These meringue topped vanilla cupcakes took quite long to complete. Hence, it would be wise to make the components ahead of time instead of doing everything on the day you intend to serve them. The meringue can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container for 1 week. It should not be exposed to any moisture to preserve its crispness. The cupcakes can be made a day or two in advance and stored at room temperature when well covered. The pastry cream must be refrigerated if made in advance.
The meringue topped vanilla cupcake was delicious and may make it again for a special occasion.
As such, I would rate Thomas Joseph’s Gougere recipe as follows:
(1 being the poor, and 5 being the best)
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Meringue topped Vanilla Cupcake
Equipment
- Cling film
- 12 hole cupcake tray
- Stand mixer
- Baking Paper
- Baking tray
Ingredients
For Creme Pattesire
- 25 g fine sugar 1 tbsp + 2 tsp
- 15 g cornstarch 1 tbsp
- 240 ml milk 1 cup
- 2 egg yolks
- 15 g salted butter 1tbsp
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
For Cupcakes
- 120 g salted butter, soft 1 stick + extra for greasing
- 120 g fine sugar 1 1/4 cup
- 1 tsp treacle
- 2 eggs
- 120 g all purpose flour 1 cup
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp milk
For Meringue
- 2 egg whites
- 95 g fine sugar 1 cup
- 3/4 tsp cornflour
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar + extra for cleaning the bowl
Instructions
For Creme Pattesire
- In a saucepan over the stove, add the fine sugar and cornstarch. Whisk well to break up any lumps in the cornstarch. This should be done under no heat/ flame.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and milk to combine.
- Gradually add the yolk-milk mixture to the cornflour mixture while whisking vigorously to ensure no lumps form. Now turn on the heat to medium and cook the mixture until it boils. Stir mixture constantly to ensure the bottom does not scorch.
- When the mixture starts to bubble, cook it for an additional minute to ensure the cornstarch has been fully activated and thickens the pastry cream.
- Remove the pastry cream from the heat and stir in the salted butter and vanilla essence.
- Cover the pastry cream cool slightly. Then place a sheet of cling film over the cream and ensure it touches the surface of the cream. This is to prevent a skin from forming at the top layer of the cream as it cools further. Let the cream cool further until ready to assemble. It can be kept for roughly 3 days refrigerated.
For Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease the cupcake tray with some butter.
- In a stand mixer, cream the salted butter and fine sugar until pale, light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time to the stand mixer and beat well to incorporate before adding the next egg.
- Add the all purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda to the stand mixer and mix on a low speed for 15 seconds.
- Add the milk to the batter and mix until the mixture is just combined.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes and let them cool to room temperature.
- Ensure your Creme Pattesire and cupcakes are cool before beginning on this step. Using a small spoon, scoop out a portion of the centre of the cupcake, about 1 or 2 teaspoon quantity. Then, fill it with creme pattesire. There should be some leftover creme pattesire after filling the cupcakes. Reserve it for just before serving.
For the Pavlova
- Preheat the oven to 135°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Wipe the mixing bowl and beater of the mixer with some vinegar. Add the egg whites into the mixing bowl. Start the mixer on a low speed to whip the egg whites
- In a small bowl, mix the cornflour and fine sugar.
- Once bubbles start to form in the egg whites and it looks foamy, increase the mixing speed to medium. Beat for 30 seconds. Then add the sugar cornstarch mixture slowly to the egg whites, a teaspoon at a time while the mixer continues to run. After all the sugar has been added, continue mixing for about 3 minutes. It should look glossy and very white. You can take a bit of the mixture and rub them between your clean fingers. It should not feel grainy. If it does, continue mixing it.
- Using two spoons, scoop out the meringues onto the prepared baking tray. Transfer them to the preheated oven to bake for 1 hour. They are done when you can lift the meringue easily from the baking paper without any sticking. You may leave them in the oven turned off to let hem cool down slowly, at least 1 hour.
Just before serving
- Ensure your Creme Pattesire, Cupcakes and meringues are cool before beginning on the steps below.
- To serve, place a teaspoon of the reserved creme pattesire on top of the filled cupcake. The reserved creme pattesire should be slightly moist. This would allow the meringue to stick to the cupcake. Top the meringue on the prepared cupcake. Repeat for the remaining cupcakes.You may stir the reserved creme pattesire to loosen it slightly. Otherwise, you may consider microwaving it for 5 seconds to loosen it slightly.
- You may drizzle some of the reserved creme pattesire on top of the meringue if you wish.