Lemon Strawberry Cream Puffs

Instructions

For the lemon curd:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the 2 eggs and one egg yolk together, then whisk in the sugar until combined.  
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the lemon juice and zest until hot, but not boiling.  
3. Slowly pour the hot lemon juice into the egg mixture, whisking constantly while pouring.  
4. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thick enough to cling to the back of the spoon, about 3 minutes.  
5. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter until combined.  
6. Stir in the cream, vanilla and salt.  
7. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl.  
8. Cover the lemon curd with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the cream puffs:  

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.  
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt, and sugar to a full rolling boil.  
3. Add the flour all at once and stir the mixture quickly until it starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.  
4. Remove the pan from the heat and keep stirring until the mixture is smooth, then allow it to cool for 5 minutes.
5. Using a handheld electric mixer, add the eggs, one at a time and beat it until it is smooth and shiny.  
6. Mound the batter on a parchment lined baking sheet, about 2 tablespoons per cream puff, spaced about 2 inches apart. I like to use an ice cream scoop to do this. If there are any peaks on the mounds of batter, you can smooth them with damp fingers.
7. Bake for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 375F and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a puff comes out without any wet batter on it.  
8. Turn the oven off, make a small slit in the sides of each pastry with a sharp knife, prop the door open with a wooden spoon, and allow them to dry in the propped open oven for about 30 minutes.  
9. Remove the pan from the oven and let the pastries cool completely.

Prepare the cream filling:  

1. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream cheese until it is smooth.  
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar, and whip the mixture until it is light and fluffy.  
3. Add in the heavy cream, lemon zest, and vanilla, and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.  
4. At this point, if you’re not ready to  assemble the cream puffs, you can keep the prepared cream in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.

For the strawberries:

1. Toss the strawberries together with the sugar in a bowl and place them in the refrigerator until needed.

Assemble the cream puffs:  

1. Slice the pastries in half.
2. Spread about 2 teaspoons of lemon curd over the bottom of each cream puff shell. 
3. Pipe a swirl of the cream filling over top of the lemon curd. I used a 1M tip for this.
4. Spoon some sliced strawberries over top of the cream filling.
5. Put the top half of the pastry on top of the strawberries. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
6. The cream puffs are best served immediately, but will keep well, already assembled, in the fridge for 1-2 days.