Lemon-Cream Filled Cream Puffs
Lemon-cream filled cream puffs sprinkled with powdered sugar and topped with candied rosemary was exactly what I needed in order to face the worst three months of the year. I’m not a winter fan. I chose to make a lemon pastry cream because I wanted something sunny on my taste buds. I know that rosemary pairs lovely with lemon, so I went with that also. The cream puffs are airy, and that airiness coupled with the pastry cream, powdered sugar, and rosemary makes for a sweet and light dessert. It also reminds me of summer.
This week I’m learning about pate a choux, otherwise known as choux pastry. It is an interesting dough because it is first cooked on the stove top, and then baked in the oven. It’s easy. The hardest part is figuring out what to fill it with. I went with an ordinary pate a choux (made with water), but you could use milk, which adds a deeper flavor. Also, a high-protein flour is recommended for good structure. I used King Arthur’s All-Purpose flour, and it worked fine, but I suspect it may have a higher protein content then other all-purpose flours. Do I sound like an egg-head? Okay, I’ll stop. Scroll on down to see this cream puff come to life in photos. I have to go make dinner anyway.
To make the lemon pastry cream…
Bring milk, some sugar, lemon zest, and the vanilla bean to a simmer.
In a large bowl, mix together the cornstarch, the rest of the sugar, salt, and the eggs
Temper the egg mixture by mixing in 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture.
Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with rest of the milk. Stir until thickened.
Strain the thickened cream into a large bowl.
Add a pat of butter and lemon extract to the pastry cream and mix.
Once cooled, cover with plastic wrap (be sure that plastic touches surface of cream) and refrigerate.
Now it’s time to get on with the pate a choux.
Bring water, butter, and salt to a boil. Once boiling, add the flour.
Vigorously stir until the dough begins to pull away from the sides and a light film develops on the spoon.
Put dough in a large bowl, cool for a 2 minutes, then stir in the eggs one at a time.
As you mix in each egg the dough begins to break apart into big pieces. Keep mixing.
The dough eventually becomes smooth and glossy again.
Okay, let’s shape these guys.
You can form the puffs by using 2 spoons, or by using a pastry bag.
Dollop out a little choux paste in each corner of the baking sheet, then place parchment over top. This will keep parchment in place.
If using a pastry bag, pipe out a swirl-like circle.
Gently brush each one with egg wash.
If too pointy on top, push it down a little.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes, then bring the temperature down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
After removing the cream puffs from the oven, cut a horizontal slit in the middle of each to dry them out a bit more. Okay, let’s fill these bad boys!
Slice in half.
Fill with the pastry cream (or anything you want!).
Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and top with a little candied rosemary.
- 2 cups (500 ml) Whole Milk
- 1/2 cup (114 g) Sugar
- 2 tsp. Lemon Zest
- 1 Vanilla Bean, split and scraped, or 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 3 TBS Cornstarch
- Pinch of Salt
- 5 Large Eggs Yolks, chilled
- 1 TBS Unsalted Butter
- 3 tsp. Lemon Extract
- Bring the milk, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the lemon zest, vanilla bean and seeds to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Meanwhile, sift together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the cornstarch, and salt onto a piece of parchment paper. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the sifted dry ingredients and whisk until fluffy.
- When the milk comes to a simmer, remove from the heat and ladle out 1/2 cup of the hot milk. Drizzle it slowly into the eggs while whisking. Once the 1/2 cup milk is incorporated into the eggs, pour the mixture back into the hot milk, whisking constantly. Be sure to scrape all the eggs into the pan with a rubber spatula.
- Immediately begin to rapidly whisk the pastry cream. In less than 1 minute, it will boil and begin to thicken. Continue to whisk for about 3 minutes, or until it has the consistency of pudding. To test the cream for doneness, tilt the saucepan to one side. The cream should pull away from the pan completely. Rinse and dry the large bowl.
- Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh strainer back into the bowl. Add the butter and lemon extract, and stir until it is melted and incorporated. If the cream seems grainy, pulse it in a food processor until smooth. The cream is now ready to use, or it can be cooled to room temperature and refrigerated for up to 3 days. To cool the pastry cream quickly, spread it out on a baking sheet lined with plastic film. To prevent a skin from forming as it cools, place a sheet of plastic film directly on the surface.
- 1 cup (250 ml) Water
- 1/2 cup (112 g) Unsalted Butter
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- 1 cup (125 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 4 Large Eggs
- Egg Wash (1 Large Egg mixed with a tablespoon of water)
- Lemon Pastry Cream (see recipe above)
- Powdered Sugar for sprinkling
- 2 cups (250 ml) Water
- 4 Rosemary Sprigs
- 1/2 cup (114 g) Sugar
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a medium saucepan, bring water, butter, and salt to a boil. Boil until butter melts away.
- Reduce heat, and add the flour all at once. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the side of the pan and clings to the spoon.
- Remove from heat, and let cool for 2 to 5 minutes in a large bowl. Stir the batter to help cool it quicker.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each until dough is smooth and glossy.
- Drop mixture on parchment-lined baking sheet using spoons, or fill a pastry bag and pipe out your desired shape. Remember to dollop a bit of the dough on each corner of the baking sheet to keep parchment in place.
- Gently brush each cream puff with a little egg wash.
- Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Cream puffs should have puffed and turned a nice golden brown color.
- Once you remove them from the oven, make a horizontal slit in each one, so as to let the steam out.
- Pour the sugar onto a large plate and set aside.
- Bring two cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
- Add the rosemary sprigs, and boil for 2 minutes.
- With a slotted spoon, remove the rosemary and place on the sugared plate. Sprinkle the tops of the rosemary with sugar.
- Gently remove the sugared rosemary to a parchment-lined plate to dry out.
- Cut each cream puff in half.
- Fill with lemon pastry cream, then sandwich the cream puffs back together.
- Sprinkle each cream puff with powdered sugar, and top with a little candied rosemary.
- pastry brush (for egg wash)
- parchment paper
- pastry bag (optional)
