Lemon Cream Puffs

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Bring a bit of sunshine into the house, in spring, summer, or even in the middle of a gray, New England winter day. Homey, from-scratch Lemon Cream Puffs feature a light choux pastry shell and silky lemon cream.

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: 142kcal

Author: Nancy Mock

Ingredients

For the pastry cream:

6 large egg yolks, room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half (8 ounces)
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from roughly 1 lemon)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the puffs:

½ cup butter, unsalted
1¼ cups water (10 ounces)
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from roughly 1 lemon)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
confectioners' sugar (for dusting)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the pastry cream:

In a large saucepan whisk together the 6 large egg yolks, room temperature, ½ cup granulated sugar, and the 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour. It should be a smooth mixture. Hold this aside.
In a separate small saucepan heat the 2 cups 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; cook and whisk it constantly for 3 minutes—as the mixture heats up, it will thicken.
Once it has thickened to the texture of loose pudding, whisk and cook the mixture for 2 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat.
Stir in the 2 tablespoons lemon zest , 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract. This is your pastry cream.
Transfer the pastry cream to a shallow metal or glass pan. (This helps it cool down faster.)
Allow the pastry cream to cool to room temperature. Press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface of the cream, then refrigerate it until it's cold—about 1 hour.

Make the choux pastry dough:

Preheat the oven to 425° F. Have ready a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Slice the ½ cup butter, unsalted into small pieces and place them in a medium saucepan. Add in the 1¼ cups water and ½ teaspoon salt. Heat everything 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 all-purpose flour into the water-butter liquid, 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 pull away from the sides and begin to form a sticky lump of dough.
Keep stirring the dough for about 3 to 4 minutes. (The bottom of the pan will get covered with a floury film which is normal.)
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.
For the 4 large eggs, room temperature, 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, the dough should look shiny and smooth. Finally, mix in the 2 tablespoons lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Make the choux puffs:

Use a medium 2-tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Use your finger dipped in cold water to smooth the tops of each dough ball.
Slide the pan into the oven and 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—Don't open the oven; instead, turn on the oven light and look through the door: the puffs are done when they're golden brown on top and very puffed.
Now, turn off the oven and leave the oven door partially opened. Leave the sheet of choux puffs inside the oven and let them cool on the rack for 20 minutes. (This helps keep them crisp.)
(Leaving them in the oven allows the puffs to cool down gradually, while staying crisp and puffed up.)
Take the choux puffs out of the oven and allow them to finish cooling.

Fill the choux puffs with cream:

Use a sharp knife to slice the cooled choux puffs in half to create tops and bottoms.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of chilled pastry cream into each puff bottom. Or, spoon the pastry cream into a piping bag with large, round tip, and pipe the cream onto the shell.
Place the tops on all the puffs. Dust them with confectioners' sugar.
Serve the Lemon Cream Puffs immediately. Or, transfer them to a tightly covered container and store them in the fridge until you need them. Then, serve them cold.
Leftover Lemon Cream Puffs can be kept tightly covered and refrigerated for about 4 days.
Makes 22 to 23 cream puffs.

Notes

When making the pastry cream, just remember to add the heated half-and-half very slowly to the egg mixture while whisking constantly. This allows the eggs and cream to combine smoothly, and helps prevent bits of cooked from forming. It's a deliciously smooth and creamy filling for the puffs.
If you think there may be some bits of cooked egg in the pastry cream, don't worry: just press the pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer to remove them.
If the baked choux puffs seem to deflate a little, don't worry about: 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.

Nutrition