Lime meringue muffins

Some of you know that I have a 13-year-old sister who happens to be the apple of my eye.
I chose her name and looked after her since she was a 4-month-old baby until a bit before I got married, 2 years ago. I used to bathe her, feed her, play with her, take her to school…
We used to do everything together and I’d take her with me wherever I went. Every time we were at the counter at the supermarket the clerk would ask me if she was my daughter – and I’d be all proud, even though we have no physical resemblance whatsoever. :D

I’ve recently found out that she loves baking, too and that she makes cakes sometimes.
She and I spent an afternoon together the other day and she wanted to help me prepare something for us to eat. So I showed her some of my cookbooks – the ones loaded with photos – and told her to choose a recipe. I helped her translating the names of the food (she knows a little English) and she finally decided for these muffins, saying the she preferred them to a chocolate muffin recipe.
I was smiling from ear to ear to see that not only she shares my passion for baking but also for citrus flavors – that’s my girl!!!

Lime meringue muffins
adapted from Sweet Food

245g (1 ¾ cups) self-rising flour
80g (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
160ml (2/3 cup) milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
75g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
zest of 1 lime*

Topping:
2 egg whites
50g (¼ cup) sugar
grated zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon caster sugar - extra

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Grease 12 standard muffin cups.
Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the sugar. Make a well in the center. Place the egg, egg yolk and salt in a bowl and beat together. Stir in the milk, vanilla and butter. Pour the egg mixture into the well. Fold until just combined – the batter will be lumpy. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.
Bake for 15 minutes - the book says the muffins would rise a little but ours rose a lot. :)
Remove from the oven – leave it on – cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes then loosen them, leaving in the pan.
While they bake, prepare the meringue: beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Add the sugar and zest and beat well.
Put a heaping tablespoon of meringue on top of each muffin and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Bake for 5 minutes or until meringue is golden.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

*next time I’ll add some lime juice too

Makes 12 – Jessica and I got 10

This is the doggy muffin: