Philly Lemon Cream Puffs Share Tags: dessert This is a twist on a French pastry dessert known as a pate a choux or profiterole - also known as a cream puff. The light, crispy shell is just the vessel. The star of the show is the Philadelphia Cream Cheese whipped cream filling flavored with meyer lemon zest and topped with a homemade candied meyer lemon peel garnish. My mom used to make this with a rum cream filling, but I like how the tangy lemon compliments the sweet cream cheese. Paula is right when she says "Don't worry about making desserts low fat." But, in this case, the reduced fat version of Philly Cream Cheese works great in this elegant dessert, so you can eat 3,4, or more! Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 45 minutes | Total time: 55 minutes | Servings: 12 3 meyer lemons
1/2 cup(s) of butter
1 cup(s) of water
1/8 tsp. of salt
1 cup(s) of flour
4 eggs
3/4 cup(s) of powdered sugar
1/2 pint(s) of heavy cream
8 ounce(s) of Philadephia Cream Cheese
2 cup(s) of sugar (for lemon garnish)
2 cup(s) of water (for lemon garnish)
Steps
Add 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), 1 cup water, 1/8 teaspoon salt to a heavy pan and get it to a boil.
Remove from heat.
Add flour, stirring rigorously. The dough will come together in a ball.
Beat eggs in one at a time. The dough will be slimy for a few seconds and then incorporate each egg. *Use a wooden spoon for this process.
Drop a heaping tablespoon at a time a few inches apart on a cookie sheet or fill a ziplock bag (snip an end) or pastry bag and pipe out the dough onto the cookie sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes. While the dough is baking, peel the remaining 2 lemons with a vegetable peeler or paring knife.
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add lemon peels. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove the peels and add 2 cups of sugar. Boil again. Add peels and bring to another boil. Drain and dry the candied lemon peels for garnish.
Whip the heavy cream and put it in the refrigerator.
Blend the cream cheese with the 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in a blender - adding in the zest of one meyer lemon.
Fold in the whipped cream and refrigerate.
When the pate a choux dough is cooled (10-15 minutes) cut them in half and fill with about 2 teaspoonfuls of the lemon cream filling
Garnish with a small piece of candied lemon peel on top of each cream puff.
Serve immediately.