Tangy light lemon filling and a toasted meringue topping make these lemon chiffon eclairs extraordinary. Enjoy these versatile pastries for brunch or with afternoon tea.
I love eclairs and cream puffs. They are so easy to serve, they look elegant and they are delicious.
Even better, they are deceptively easy to make. Choux pastry sounds fancy but its only 5 ingredients and it comes together quickly.
If you’re pressed for time, you can make the pastry shells ahead of time and freeze them for up to 3 months. Just pop them in a 350°F (150°C) oven for 5-10 minutes.
This recipe is an adaptation of a cream puff recipe I discovered in high school. The filling isn’t s true lemon chiffon. Instead of whipped egg whites, whipped cream gives the filling it’s light airy texture.
You can save time by using canned lemon curd or make some of your own with my lemon curd recipe.
If the meringue topping intimidates you, you can leave it off and just dust these with powdered sugar. The filling speaks for itself.
These lemon chiffon eclairs are perfect for afternoon tea or Mother’s Day brunch. You might want to make a double batch though as they disappear quickly.
Yield: 20 eclairs
Lemon Chiffon Eclairs
Ingredients
Choux Pastry
1 cup water
½ cup unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs
Lemon Chiffon Filling
¾ cup lemon curd
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (2 ¼ teaspoons)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup cool water
Meringue
½ cup egg whites
¼ cup sugar
pinch cream of tartar
Instructions
Pastry Shells
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven at 375°F.
Put butter, salt and water in a 2 quart saucepan and heat until it boils and the butter melts.
Remove from heat and add the flour all at once. Stir vigorously to form a dough that leaves the sides of the pan.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Put dough in a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. You can also simply cut the tip of a disposable pastry bag to make a wide opening.
Pipe 6-inch long bars on your lined pans. You should get about 20 of them. Dip your finger in water to smooth over the ends.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and crisp. Cool on wire racks. While the shells are cooling, make the filling.
Lemon Filling
Put water in a small wide dish (saucer works well). Sprinkle gelatin on top in an even layer and set aside for 5 minutes to soften. Stir to dissolve. If needed gently heat the gelatin (10 seconds in a microwave) and stir to dissolve.
Mix dissolved gelatin with lemon curd.
Put whipping cream in a chilled bowl and whip until stiff peaks form (do not over beat).
Fold in lemon curd gelatin mixture and refrigerate while you finish preparing the cooled shells.
Filling the Shells
Use a bread knife to carefully slice open each shell. I sliced mine horizontally about 1/3 the way down from the top. I left one side unsliced so the shells were open and the top was still attached along one long side.
Spoon filling into the openings in the eclairs. Don't overfill. You want the tops to sit back down on the filling without leaving a seam.
Place filled eclairs in the freezer while you make the meringue.
Meringue Topping
Beat egg whites until frothy. Add a pinch of cream of tartar.
Beat until soft peaks form and sprinkle in sugar.
Beat until stiff peaks form.
Take one tray of eclairs out of the freezer at a time and pipe or spoon meringue on top of each eclair.
Set your oven rack to the top position in your oven. Put the tray of meringues on the rack and turn your broiler on. Watch the eclairs carefully. You want to tops to be like toasted marshmallows. Remove from the oven and immediately remove from the pan onto a tray to go back into the refrigerator. Let the oven cool between trays of eclairs.
Refrigerate until serving. These are best the same day they are made but will keep for a week.
Notes
If you don't want to pipe eclairs, you can easily make these into cream puffs by spooning the choux pastry onto your parchment paper. You don't actually need parchment paper because the choux is so buttery it will not stick to your pans. Parchment just makes cleanup easier.
