Marietjie’s Choux Puffs with Lemon Blancmange

ingredients

• • 1 1/2 cup milk
  • zest of 2 lemons
  • lemon verbena leaves (optional)
  • 1/4 cup Chelsea White Sugar
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 3 tablespoon cornflour
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 60 millilitre lemon juice

• Choux puffs

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 50 gram butter
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chelsea White Sugar
  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 2 eggs

• Lemon curd

  • 230 gram Chelsea Caster Sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • zest of 3 lemons, finely grated
  • 60 gram butter

method

• • 1

    Bring 1¼ cups of the milk, lemon zest and lemon verbena leaves, if using, to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

  • 2

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, cornflour, salt and remaining ¼ cup cold milk.

  • 3

    Pour the warm, lemon-infused milk through a sieve into the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously until smooth. Return the mixture to the saucepan and whisk constantly over medium-low heat until smooth and thick; about 3-5 minutes.

  • 4

    Remove the pan from the heat and stir in butter, vanilla and lemon juice. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks then fold into the mixture. Pour pudding mixture into glasses or ramekins, cover surface with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or until set.

  • 5

    Meanwhile, make the Choux puffs and Lemon curd (see below).

  • 6

    To serve, arrange Choux puffs on plates with blancmanche and Lemon curd. Break a puff open, spoon pudding into centre, add a dollop of curd; eat!

• Choux puffs

  • 1

    Preheat oven to 200°C. Put the water in a saucepan, add butter, salt and sugar and bring to the boil. When the butter is melted and the liquid boiling, tip in the flour; stir briskly with a wooden spoon, removing from the heat as soon as the dough forms a ball. It should not stick to the sides of the saucepan. Allow the dough to cool slightly then add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

  • 2

    Spoon or pipe onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Splash the tray with cold water, then bake for about 25 minutes until light brown, crisp on the outside and hollow inside. Allow to cool on a rack.

• Lemon curd

  • 1

    In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Cook in the microwave on HIGH for 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon; around 4 minutes. It will thicken on chilling in the refrigerator.

notes

• If you rinse out the glasses or ramekins with cold water before adding the lemon mixture, by the time it has chilled, the blancmanche should easily tip out onto a plate. PER SERVE Energy 717kcal, 3003kj • Protein 16g • Total Fat 31.3g • Saturated Fat 12.7g • Carbohydrate 94.4g • Fibre 2.2g • Sodium 378mg • Sugar 78g