Firstly, make the Zesty Lemon Cupcakes.

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius fan forced (300 Fahrenheit; Gas Mark 2). Line cupcake baking tray with cupcake liners. This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.
2. Place butter in mixing bowl of stand mixer and beat until very pale. Scrape the bowl as needed.
3. Add caster sugar and continue to mix until very pale and well combined.
4. Scrape bowl as needed.
5. Add lemon rind and lemon juice and continue to mix until well combined.
6. Add the whisked eggs in 2 batches, beating well between each addition.
7. Combine flours together in a separate bowl ensuring they are well combined, then add 1/2 a cup at a time in batches with the milk into the batter and mix lightly on low speed until just combined.
8. Scrape bowl as needed.
9. Ensuring you do not over mix. Once the flour disappears in the mixture you can stop the mixer.
10. Finish mixing the batter by hand with a silicone spatula. Do not over mix.
11. Fill the cupcake liners with batter in equal measurements. This recipe serves 12 cupcakes with 1/4 cup of batter for each. Otherwise fill 3/4 of the cupcake liner, depending on the size of your cupcake liner.
12. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes. But remember that all ovens vary. Check if cooked by inserting a toothpick. If it comes out clean it’s ready. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before moving onto a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

Secondly, make the lemon curd.

1. Add caster sugar, cornflour, water and lemon juice to small pan. Stir ingredients with a metal spoon until all well combined.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a metal spoon constantly. Do not let mixture stick to the bottom of the pan or burn.
3. Mixture will begin to thicken up after a few minutes.
4. Continue to stir until mixture thickens and becomes smooth.
5. Add the butter and whisked egg yolk and cook for three minutes until all well combined.
6. Do not let the curd stick to the pan or burn. Continue to stir through.
7. Add the lemon rind and stir through until smooth and well combined.
8. Set aside and refrigerate immediately. The lemon curd will harden in the fridge, therefore will need to bring to room temperature to soften it and be able to pipe it into the Lemon Cupcake.

Thirdly, make the Italian Meringue

1. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolk when the eggs are cold. Then leave the egg whites in a bowl covered at room temperature.
2. Place caster sugar and water in a small sauce pan with a long handle. Mix sugar and water with a metal spoon and cook over medium heat stirring until sugar is dissolved.
3. Stir from time to time and ensure sugar crystals do not form on the sides of the saucepan by brushing with a silicone pastry brush or with the metal spoon.
4. Increase heat to medium-high. Leave cooking.
5. In the meantime while sugar and water cook, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean metal or glass stand mixer bowl free of grease. If in doubt wipe bowl with lemon juice or vinegar.
6. Whisk on low to medium speed for 1 minute then increase to medium speed until soft peak forms.
7. Return to sugar and water syrup, increase heat to highest. Watch the temperature and that sugar syrup does not burn. Final temperature must reach 115 degrees Celsius (239 Fahrenheit).
8. When temperature has reached 115 degrees Celsius (239 Fahrenheit) and the meringue has reached soft peaks and increased in volume, increase mixer speed to medium-high.
9. Then remove pan from heat and while the mixer is still running slowly pour hot sugar syrup in a steady stream on one side of the mixer bowl.
10. The meringue should start to become thicker, increase in more volume and become shiny. Do not over mix. Once you see that the meringue starts to become shiny stop the mixer and check for stiff peaks with a spoon.
11. The meringue should not move or in any way be soft or runny. If the meringue looks frothy or like it’s starting to separate you have mixed for too long.
12. Remove meringue from mixer bowl and set aside.