Blueberry Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Yesterday I was watching Martha Stewart while I ate the hell out of a big old messy burrito. She was making the most delicate, girly little lemon meringue cupcakes that looked amazing. In my mind, I host these extravagant girls only brunches and get togethers where things are all feminine and adorable and these cupcakes would totally work it.
And then I thought nothing of them as she moved onto paper flowers (which would also be great for said party). Until I read Vanilla Garlic's post about "The Cupcake That You Never Saw." Blueberry curd?! OF COURSE!
Leave it to an actual culinary genius to come up with this on his own, as I bumble along the interwebs snagging and reinterpreting (and sometimes just copying) the numtastic things I come across.
Once upon a time I made some really yummy lemon/strawberry cupcakes, with lemon frosting featuring the zest from the lemons that grew in our backyard and I was quite pleased with me (I used the juice in the frosting and batter as well). And much as I love lemon and strawberry together, blueberry and lemon?! Sweet mother. So now, whether or not VG manages to recreate his magic, I'm going to have to try it on my own.

Martha's Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Makes 24

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Lemon Curd
• Seven-Minute Frosting

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, and beating until just combined after each.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, spread 1 tablespoon lemon curd onto middle of each cupcake. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open-star tip (Ateco #828 or Wilton #8B) with frosting. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip slightly and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Hold a small kitchen torch 3 to 4 inches from surface of frosting, and wave it back and forth until frosting is lightly browned all over. Serve immediately.

BUT! Forget that lemon cake plus lemon curd nonsense! Blueberry curd - hell yes. Plus I'm sure you can imagine that I'm going to throw a few blueberries into some of the cupcakes because the gorgeous purple polka dots look so awesome and taste fantastic.

Blueberry curd:
1 pint blueberries
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces

In a food processor or blender, puree the blueberries until smooth. Pass the puree through a chinois set over a bowl, using a pestle to press on the solids and extract as much juice as possible; discard the solids. You should have about 1/2 cup juice.

In the top pan of a double boiler or in a nonreactive saucepan, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar until blended. Then whisk in the blueberry juice, salt, and lemon juice. Set the top pan over but not touching simmering water in the bottom pan, or set the saucepan over medium-low heat. (If using a saucepan, take care not to heat the mixture too quickly.) Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula or spoon, until the mixture is warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Begin adding the butter a little at a time, stirring each addition until blended before adding more. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan, until a finger drawn across the back of the spatula leaves a path, 8 to 10 minutes more. Immediately remove the pan from the heat. Pass the curd through the chinois set over a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Whisk to blend.