Deliciously light, fluffy and full of flavour; these Italian-inspired Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes with Honey Meringue Frosting are a lemon lovers dream come true! Balanced with the perfect amount of honey in a delicate fluffy frosting, these are a truly special cupcake.
You probably all know by now that I’m a huge cupcake fan. And I love lemons! Especially this year, being blessed with a tree full of juicy lemons (thanks to my neighbour’s new watering system that trickles over to my tree!). So of course I’m going to make lemon cupcakes….but not just any lemon cupcake. These Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes with Honey Meringue Frosting are seriously next level! The ricotta gives a deliciously rich flavour and smooth texture, while the Honey Meringue Frosting is fluffy and light, with the added sweetness of the honey to balance out the lemon.
KEY INGREDIENTS FOR LEMON RICOTTA CUPCAKES WITH HONEY MERINGUE FROSTING
- CAKE FLOUR: Is a must, for that deliciously fluffy and light texture. I use Lighthouse Cake Flour that I buy from Coles. If you can’t find cake flour, you can make your own by following these simple steps:
- Measure 300g (2 cups) of plain flour
- Remove 4 tablespoons of flour
- Add 4 tablespoons of cornflour and mix to combine
- Use what you need (you’ll need 190g to make these cupcakes)
- UNSALTED BUTTER: It needs to be at room temperature for it to mix properly and give a light, fluffy texture. If you only have salted butter, simply omit the pinch of salt in the recipe.
- RICOTTA CHEESE: Again, this must be room temperature to incorporate well. It gives a rich, slightly tangy flavour to the cupcakes, as well as contributing to that fluffy texture.
- LEMON JUICE AND ZEST: Is delicious paired with ricotta and makes these cupcakes more of a traditional Italian dessert.
- HONEY: Seriously, it’s lemon’s best friend! Such a great flavour combination
MAKING THE PERFECT RICOTTA CUPCAKE
- The key to making the perfect Lemon Ricotta Cupcake is having the key ingredients at room temperature.
- Take your time mixing and make sure you achieve that light, fluffy texture as you incorporate the butter and ricotta into the sugar. It will take a good 5 minutes of mixing on a medium to high speed and you will need to stop the mixer a couple of times and scrape the bowl, to ensure the butter, sugar and ricotta are mixed evenly.
- Don’t overmix the batter once the flour goes in. Mix until it’s just combined, or you’ll end up with heavy cupcakes!
- Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the cupcake papers. This ensures your cupcakes are all the same size.
MAKING THE HONEY MERINGUE FROSTING
I use a Swiss meringue buttercream for the frosting. It’s light, smooth and delicious, without being super sweet: perfect for adding a little bit of honey to!
To make a Swiss meringue buttercream, you simply heat egg whites and sugar in a double boiler (I use the bowl of my stand mixer over a medium sized saucepan with simmering water in it). Whisk it by hand as it heats, then simply transfer the bowl to your stand mixer and away you go! After machine whisking for about 5 minutes, you gradually add the butter, then the vanilla and honey.
HOW SWEET, HONEY?
Honey and lemon are a flavour match made in heaven! But how much is too much? You can adjust the amount of honey to suit your taste buds, but I’ve added 1 tablespoon to keep the flavour subtle. My husband likes a little more honey though…. The good thing is, you can adjust it when you make the frosting. If 1 tablespoon isn’t enough for you, just add a little more.
RECIPE FOR LEMON RICOTTA CUPCAKES WITH HONEY MERINGUE FROSTING
I know you’re going to love these fluffy Italian-inspired cupcakes! Pile them high with that delicious honey frosting and enjoy!
Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes with Honey Meringue Frosting
Ingredients
Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes
- 190 g cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 200 g sugar
- 115 g unsalted butter room temperature, cubed
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 3 eggs XL
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 235 g ricotta cheese full fat, room temperature
- ¼ cup milk full fat
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Honey Meringue Buttercream
- 2 egg whites from 3 XL eggs
- 135 g caster sugar
- 1 tbs honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 165 g unsalted butter, cubed room temperature
Instructions
Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F and line a 12 capacity cupcake pan with paper liners
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the soft butter and sugar.
- Add the ricotta and mix on medium-high until light and fluffy (around 5 minutes). Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl a couple of times, to make sure the ingredients are mixed evenly.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition
- Combine the milk, vanilla and lemon juice and zest, then add that to the mixer in 3 batches, alternating with the sifted dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- Use a large ice cream scoop to scoop batter into the cupcake pan
- Bake for 18 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean
- Remove cupcakes from oven and rest them in the pan for 5 minutes, before removing them from the pan to cool on a rack. Once cooled, top with the Honey Meringue Frosting
Honey Meringue Frosting
- Bring a small amount of water in a small saucepan to a simmer
- Place the caster sugar and egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and place the bowl on top of the simmering water, to create a double boiler
- Whisk the mixture until sugar dissolves (1-2 minutes)
- Transfer the bowl to the mixer, then whisk on medium-high until stiff peaks form (3-5 minutes)
- With the mixer still running, gradually add the butter cubes, mixing well between additions
- Once all of the butter is combined, continue to mix for around 5 minutes. The mixture will start to look curdled and funky, but it will return to a beautiful, silky frosting.
- Once smooth, add the vanilla and honey, while whisking until combined
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag, fitted with a 1M nozzle and pipe high onto cooled cupcakes
- Decorate with edible flowers, natural honeycomb and blackberries if desired
FOR ALL MY LEMON FANS…
So if you’re like me and love your lemons, then here’s a few more of my favourite lemon recipes:
Lemon Delicious Puddings for the most comforting winter dessert.
No-Bake Lemon Slice because you can’t beat a good no-bake slice!
Homemade Lemon Curd not just for your toast -use it in pastry shells to make a quick lemon tart
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