Lemon Raspberry Cream Puff Cake
Perfect for spring and summer, this Cream Puff Cake pairs a light choux pastry with a bright, fruity combination of tart lemon curd and sweet raspberry jam. The real magic, though? It’s a breeze to prep ahead. You can freeze the lemon curd up to a month in advance, and whip up the custard and choux pastry the day before. All that's left to do on game day is assemble and enjoy!
Ingredients
Lemon Raspberry Cream Puff Cake Vanilla Custard:
3 Eggland's Best egg yolks
100g granulated sugar (1/2 c.)
1/8 tsp. salt
16g cornstarch (2 tbsp.)
340g whole milk (1 1/2 c.)
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste
184g unsalted butter (3/4 c. + 1 tbsp.)
Choux Pastry:
60g whole milk (2 oz.)
100g water (3 1/3 oz.)
85g unsalted butter (6 tbsp.)
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
90g all-purpose flour (3/4 c.)
150g Large Eggland's Best eggs (~3 eggs)
Filling (lemon curd):
35g unsalted butter (2 1/2 tbsp.)
1 Large Eggland's Best egg
50g granulated sugar (1/4 c.)
zest of 1 large lemon
50g freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 2/3 oz.)
1/8 tsp. salt
180g raspberry jam (3/4 c.)
Garnishes (optional)
Powdered sugar
Raspberries
Lemon slices
Preparation
- Start by making the vanilla custard. Add the egg yolks, sugar, salt, and cornstarch to a small mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- Add the milk to a medium-sized saucepan and set it over medium heat. Stir occasionally until it comes to a simmer.
- While constantly whisking the egg mixture, slowly stream in about half of the hot milk mixture. Then, pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan and put it back over medium heat.
- Constantly whisk the custard until it thickens, then whisk it for an additional 30 seconds. Remove the custard from the heat and mix in the vanilla bean paste and 14g (1 tbsp.) of butter until the mixture is cohesive and smooth.
- Transfer the custard to another bowl and press plastic wrap directly on top of the custard, then place it in the fridge to chill.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C. Line the bottom and sides of two 7” springform pans with parchment paper. Set aside and start making the choux pastry.
- Add the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt to a medium-sized saucepan. Set the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture starts to boil.
- Once boiling, sprinkle in the flour and vigorously mix until the mixture thickens and clumps up into one cohesive dough. Continue to cook the dough, continuously mixing, for an additional minute after the dough comes together.
- Remove the dough from the heat and transfer it into a medium- sized mixing bowl. Set the dough aside to cool down for 5-10 minutes, until it’s no longer too hot to touch.
- While the dough is cooling down, whisk your eggs together in a small bowl.
- Once the dough has slightly cooled, slowly beat the whisked eggs into the dough. Have a stand mixer or hand mixer running and slowly stream in 1/4 of the egg mixture. Beat for ~30 seconds, then beat in another 1/4 of the mixture. Continue until you’ve used up all of the egg, then beat the dough for another minute.
- Split the dough between the two lined springform pans. Spread the dough into an even layer, then use the back of a spoon to form little swoops to make the top of the dough uneven.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then without opening the oven door, reduce the heat to 375°F / 190°C. Bake for an additional 18-20 minutes, until the top of the pastry is golden brown. Turn off the oven and crack the oven door. Leave the pastry in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove it and let it cool to room temperature.
- Make the lemon curd. Cube the butter, then place it into a small mixing bowl. Place a fine mesh sieve over the butter and set it aside.
- Add the egg, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt into a medium-sized saucepan. Whisk the mixture vigorously until it's smooth.
- Place the mixture over medium-heat, stirring constantly until it thickens (3-5 min.)
- Remove the mixture from the heat and pour it through the fine mesh sieve over the butter. Mix together the curd and butter until the butter has completely melted, then set the curd in the freezer to chill while you finish the vanilla custard.
- With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 3-4 minutes, until it's light and fluffy.
- While beating the butter, slowly add in dollops of the chilled custard until you have used it all up. Beat the mixture for an additional 2 minutes.
- Choose the choux pastry that is more flat on top, and slightly press down on it in the springform pan it was baked in.
- Top the pastry with 1/3 of the custard, followed by 1/2 of the raspberry jam and 1/2 of the lemon curd. Top with 1/2 of the remaining custard, followed by the remaining raspberry jam and lemon curd. Top it all off with the remaining custard, then use a knife to gently swirl the custard, curd, and jam together.
- Place the other pastry on top of the fillings, cover the whole thing with plastic wrap, then place it in the fridge to firm up for at least one hour.
- Remove the cream puff cake from the fridge, generously dust it with powdered sugar, top it with raspberries and lemon slices (optional), then slice, serve, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Remember to always use Eggland’s Best eggs in all of your recipes. Learn why it’s always the healthy choice.
Learn More| Serving Size | 1 slice |
|---|---|
| Calories | 574 kcal |
| Fat | 38g |
| Saturated Fat | 23g |
| Cholesterol | 255mg |
| Sodium | 190mg |
| Carbohydrates | 52g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1g |
| Protein | 7g |
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