Meyer Lemon Cream Puffs

This easy recipe for Meyer Lemon Cream Puffs makes the most amazing, light, bright and creamy puffs filled with homemade Meyer lemon curd and vanilla whipped cream! Everything is made from scratch and absolutely delicious!

After almost 10 years, our little Meyer lemon tree gave us some beautiful lemons! Since we live in Oregon, this is pretty exciting and maybe not so hard to believe since our weather isn’t exactly citrus worthy. However, the little tree that could made it happen just in time to try out this recipe for Meyer Lemon Cream Puffs!

I’ve been wanting to try to make cream puffs for quite some time and after obsessively watching the Great British Baking Show and seeing some Instagram pics, the timing was perfect.

What are Meyer Lemons?

Meyer lemons are smaller and sweeter than regular lemons and have almost a vanilla-herbal thing going on in my opinion. They smell AMAZING! They are also darker in color than regular lemons. I promise it’s worth it. If you can’t find Meyer lemons or don’t want to wait 10 years for your tree to produce (just kidding, I think we almost killed it, but that’s another story…), then you can always just use regular lemons. If you do, a splash of orange juice may help balance the tartness.

What are cream puffs made of?

Honestly, I was surprised at how easy these were to make. The dough recipe is a basic choux pastry dough. This is the base for other pastries like éclairs and profiteroles. So if you are craving a filled baked treat, you can now take your pick! To get the “cream” in a cream puff, you can add whipped cream or pastry cream.

Tips before you get started

• You will need 2-3 medium-large Meyer lemons. They aren’t usually very big, so keep that in mind.
• You will also need to chill the curd for at least an hour, so make it first.
• Plan ahead and pull out your eggs (6), milk and butter ahead of time because they need to be room temperature
• You need 2 pastry bags, one for puffs and one for the whipped cream (if you want it to look pretty). If you don’t have pastry bags, you can always use ziplock bags and cut off one corner.
• Don’t be like me and open the oven door a few times to check on your puffs, they need the heat to get puffy! In fact, leave it closed the whole time.
• Zest your lemons BEFORE your juice them ?
• For the best whipped cream results, make sure the cream and your bowl are nice and cold before you start whipping. Keep both in the fridge until you are ready to start.

Print

Meyer Lemon Cream Puffs

This easy recipe makes the most amazing, light, bright and creamy puffs filled with homemade Meyer lemon curd and vanilla whipped cream! Everything is made from scratch and absolutely delicious!

Course Dessert

Keyword cream puff recipe, homemade cream puffs, lemon cream puff, meyer lemon dessert

Servings 24 cream puffs

Author EmilyFabulous

Ingredients

Meyer Lemon Curd

• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 6 tbsp lemon juice
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, cubed

Cream Puff Batter

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
• 2 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 large eggs, room temp

Whipped Cream

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 5-6 tbsp powdered confectioners sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Lemon Curd

• Whisk together lemon zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in pan on stove.
• Cook over low heat (so you don't cook the eggs!), whisking constantly, until thickened.
• Add butter pieces a few at a time, whisking constantly until melted in.
  
• Keep whisking until curd is smooth and thickened, and coats the back of a spoon.
  
• Strain lemon curd through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.
  
• Put plastic wrap directly on the top of the lemon curd so a film doesn't form on top (see picture below). Chill in fridge until cold, at least 1 hour.
  

Cream Puff Pastry

• Preheat oven to 425 and line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. This recipe makes about 24 puffs.
• Add water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt to a pan on the stove and mix over medium to high heat. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
• Add flour and quickly stir into mixture. It really starts to form more a dough at this point.
• Return pan back to the stove top on medium heat and stir constantly for a few minutes, cooking until mixture pulls away from the pan and a film forms on the bottom of the pan. This happened pretty quickly for me.
  
• Transfer the dough to a mixer or bowl and beat on low speed for 3-4 minutes until cooled.
• Add eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed until each is fully mixed in. Mix until shiny and almost ribbon like.
  
• Place dough in a pastry bag with a round tip. Pipe round circles spaced at least 1 inch apart on parchment paper. Since this was the first time I did this, I guessed a little. The puffs that came out the best were the ones that I did a second layer on top so they were a little higher and could rise (see photo). Try not to pull up and leave a peak, but you can smooth down with your finger if needed.
  
• Place one baking sheet at a time in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• Lower oven temperature to 375 and continue baking for another 5-10 minutes, until golden and airy. Keep an eye on them because they brown quickly!
• Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
  
• Repeat steps 8-10 for the other baking sheet and make sure your oven heats back up to 425 to before the second pan goes in.

Whipped Cream

• Put heavy cream into mixer and begin whipping at medium speed.
• Add powdered sugar and continue to whip on medium speed.
• Add vanilla and whip the cream on medium-high speed until nice and fluffy.

Assembly

• Once your puffs have cooled, cut them open with a serrated knife. Try to only cut them about ¾ of the way so the filling won't spill out when you bite into it. Your puffs should be airy inside with some nice holes to work with.
• At first, I placed a dollop of curd and swirled some whipped cream inside from a pastry bag. It worked fine but I really wanted to get equal amounts of whipped cream and lemon curd in each bite. So, I filled my pastry bag with half whipped cream and half lemon curd. It worked perfectly, like a swirl of frozen yogurt with two flavors. Yum!! Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar and you are in business.

Want more delicious lemon recipes? Check out these posts below:

• Lemon Lavender Bread
• Lemon Lavender Cupcakes
• Easy Lemon Curd Filled Cupcakes
• Lemon Cranberry Meringue Pie

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