110mlrapeseed oilor any flavourless oil of your choice
For the saffron lemon curd:
50mllemon juice
Zest of 3 lemons
75gicing sugar
20gcornflour
30grefined coconut oil
50mlcoconut milk
Pinchof saffron
For the meringue:
100mlaquafaba reduced from 200mlchilled
1/4tspcream of tartar
100gcaster sugar
25mlwater
25mlagave
2tspvanilla extract
1/4tspagar-agar
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 175°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cupcake cases.
For the vegan saffron lemon curd:
To make the saffron lemon curd, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and give everything a good whisk. Cook over a medium heat, whisking all the time until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of custard. The saffron will start to turn the lemon curd a beautiful shade of daffodil yellow. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Once the lemon curd has cooled for 10 minutes, directly cover the surface with cling film to stop a hard skin forming. Refrigerate until needed.
For the vegan cupcakes:
Mix together the almond milk and lemon juice in a jug. Allow to stand for ten minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in the oil.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, caster sugar, cornflour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and beat with a whisk for 1-2 minutes, until you have a smooth batter.
Pour or scoop the batter into the paper cupcake cases, filling to about ¾ of the way up. Give the base of the tin a quick succession of taps on the work surface to remove any large air bubbles.
Place the tin into the pre-heated oven and bake for 18 minutes, or until golden on top and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
For the vegan meringue:
To make the meringue, place the reduced and chilled aquafaba in a clean stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the cream of tartar and whisk on high speed for 3-4 minutes until frothy.
Combine the water, sugar, agave, vanilla and agar-agar in a saucepan and mix until dissolved. Cook over a medium heat, stirring often to stop the syrup catching and burning at the base of the pan. Use a sugar thermometer to check the temperature of the syrup. Once the syrup reaches 120°C/250°F, remove it from the heat and quickly pour it into the still running bowl of the stand mixer. Whisk the mixture for 15 minutes until white and meringue-like in texture.
Use a spoon to remove the centres from the cooled cupcakes and pipe or spoon 2 teaspoons of the chilled lemon curd into the centre. Fill top of the plug with a few cake crumbs.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a large, round tip with the meringue mixture. Pipe the meringue on to the cupcakes. I chose to do a simple pillowy blob but you can also use a star piping tip if you like. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can also spoon the meringue on top.
For a toasted finish, use a kitchen blowtorch to toast the tops of the meringues before serving. I do not recommend placing the cupcakes under a grill when using paper cases. If you don’t have a kitchen blowtorch and would like to toast the meringue, consider using grill-safe silicone cupcake cases.
Storage: Keep these cupcakes covered and at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Storing them in the refrigerator may cause the meringue to weep liquid and deflate.