Lemon Curd and Meringue Choux Craquelin

Ingredients

• Unsalted butter (craquelin)60g
• Brown sugar60g
• All-purpose flour (craquelin)60g
• Fleur de sel1g
• Water (choux)100g
• Whole milk100g
• Unsalted butter (choux)90g
• Sugar (choux)5g
• Salt3g
• All-purpose flour (choux)110g
• Eggs (choux)4 large
• Lemon juice120g
• Lemon zest3 lemons
• Sugar (curd)150g
• Whole eggs (curd)3 large
• Egg yolks (curd)3
• Unsalted butter (curd)120g
• Egg whites (meringue)100g
• Sugar (meringue)200g
• Water (meringue)50g

Method

1. 1.Make craquelin: beat butter and brown sugar together, add flour and fleur de sel, mix until a smooth dough forms. Roll to 2mm between parchment sheets, freeze until firm.
2. 2.Bring water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt to a full boil. Add flour all at once, stir vigorously over heat for 2 minutes until the dough pulls clean from the pan.
3. 3.Transfer dough to a stand mixer with the paddle. Beat on medium, adding eggs one at a time until the batter is smooth and falls in a slow ribbon.
4. 4.Pipe 5cm rounds on a lined tray. Stamp out craquelin discs to match and place one on each choux.
5. 5.Bake at 180°C for 28 minutes — no peeking. Cool completely on a rack.
6. 6.Make lemon curd: whisk lemon juice, zest, sugar, eggs, and yolks in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and bubbling. Off heat, blend in cold cubed butter. Strain, press film directly onto surface, chill 2 hours.
7. 7.Make Italian meringue (meringue italienne): cook sugar and water to 121°C. Whisk egg whites to soft peaks, pour in the hot syrup in a thin stream, whisk on high until glossy and cool.
8. 8.Slice the top third off each choux. Pipe lemon curd generously into each base.
9. 9.Transfer meringue to a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe tall rosettes over the curd.
10. 10.Toast meringue with a kitchen torch until golden in patches. Replace the craquelin lid at an angle and serve immediately.