Cream Puffs, with Lemon Filling

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A light and airy pastry with a touch of lemon flavor, these Cream Puffs are filled with a luscious Lemon Filling. They're lovely, sunshiney treats!

Prep Time22

Cook Time1 3

Chilling/Cooling Time30

Total Time1 55

Course: Chilled Dessert, Dessert, Spring Dishes, Summer Dessert, Winter Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 257kcal

In a large saucepan whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar and the 3 tablespoons of flour. It should be a smooth mixture. Hold this aside.
In a separate small saucepan heat the half-and-half over medium heat, stirring it frequently just until it comes to a simmer.
Pouring very slowly (so as not to cook the egg), pour half of the hot half-and-half over the egg mixture, whisking rapidly. Keep whisking until the mixture is smooth. Slowly pour in the rest of the half-and-half; whisk it in.
Place this mixture over medium heat and whisk it constantly for 3 to 6 minutes—as the mixture heats up, it will thicken.
Once it has thickened whisk and cook it 2 minutes longer and then remove the pan from the heat.
Stir in the tablespoon of lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of lemon zest.
Allow the pastry cream to cool to room temperature. Press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface of the cream and refrigerate it until it's cold—about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425° F. Have ready a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Slice the butter into small pieces. Heat the butter, water and salt in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, until the water comes to a boil and the butter is melted. Remove the pan from the heat.
Stir in the 1¼ cups of flour; keep stirring until no dry flour remains. Return the pan to the burner over medium heat.
Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir the flour mixture constantly over the heat—it will quickly pull away from the sides and form a sticky lump of dough. Keep stirring the dough for about 3 to 4 minutes. (The bottom of the pan will get covered by a film which is normal.) If you have a digital thermometer you can check the temperature of the dough—it should be 165° to 175°F.
Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix the dough on low for 3 to 4 minutes to cool it enough to touch.
Beat one egg at a time into the dough, mixing thoroughly and scraping the sides of the bowl before adding the next. Once all of the eggs are in, mix in the tablespoon of lemon juice and the 2 tablespoons of lemon zest.

Use a medium 2-tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Bake the puffs for 10 minutes. Then, reduce the oven temperature to 350° F. (Do not open the door.) Bake the puffs for another 15 to 20 minutes, until they're lightly browned on top and the tops feel sturdy.
Turn off the oven and partly open the door. Leave the sheet of puffs inside and let them cool on the oven rack for 30 minutes. (This helps keep them crisp.)

Use a sharp knife to slice the puffs in half to create tops and bottoms.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of chilled pastry cream into each puff bottom. Another option is to spoon the pastry cream into a piping bag with large, round tip, and pipe the cream into the puff shell.
Place the tops on all the puffs and then dust them with confectioners' sugar.
Serve the puffs immediately or store them covered in the fridge until you need them. Leftover puffs can be kept covered and refrigerated for about 2 days.
Makes about 23 cream puffs.

The pastry cream is not difficult to make—just remember to add the heated half-and-half very slowly to the egg mixture. This allows the mixtures to combine smoothly with no cooked bits of egg. It's a deliciously smooth and creamy filling for the puffs.
If you think there may be some bits of cooked egg, press the pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer to remove them.
Don't panic if the puffs do deflate a little. They're still a delicious vehicle for the lemon pastry cream.
The pastry cream is adapted from the recipe in The Dessert Bible by Christopher Kimball.