04/04/2025
🐰🍫🍓 When extra effort = EXTRA delicious! 🍓🍋🐰
Yes, this Chocolate Strawberry Lemon Bunny Cream Puff recipe is a little complicated…but trust us, it’s SO worth it. Flaky, airy puffs filled with luscious lemon cream, topped with rich chocolate, and finished with fresh strawberries? Absolute dessert perfection. ✨
They’re cute. They’re fancy. And they might just steal the show at your Easter table. 🐣
CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY LEMON BUNNY CREAM PUFFS
INGREDIENTS
Cream puff:
4 Oakdell Omega-3 Eggs
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup water
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Lemon pastry cream:
3 Oakdell Omega-3 Egg Yolks
1 Oakdell Omega-3 Egg
1 cup 2% milk
1 cup half & half
1 lemon peel
6 teaspoons sugar
pinch salt
2 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract or emulsion
1 lemon zested
Chocolate ganache:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Strawberries
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium saucepan combine butter, water, and salt. Cook on high heat until boiling. The butter should be completely melted by time the water boils. Remove from heat and stir in flour.
3. Return the saucepan back to the stovetop and turn the heat down to medium. Stir the dough and mash it against the sides and bottom of the pan. Gather it up into a ball. Repeat this until the dough dries out about 3-5 minutes. The dough is ready when it pulls away from the sides to form a ball and it is glossy. A spoon should be able to stand up in it.
4. Transfer dough to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-low to cool the dough. Once the dough is slightly warm add one egg at a time until incorporated. After adding 3 eggs check the dough. Place a spatula in the dough and pull it back out. If the dough hangs from the spatula and forms a "v", it is ready. If not add the last egg. Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe 1 1/2-inch round mounds.
5. Bake for 40 minutes. During the last 5-10 minutes poke a hole with a toothpick in the bottom of each puff to release steam.
6. Transfer the puffs to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
7. Make pastry cream in a medium saucepan, heat milk, half & half, and lemon peel over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Remove peel.
8. Stir in sugar and salt.
9. Whisk egg yolks, eggs, and cornstarch together in a medium bowl.
10. Slowly add in milk mixture while whisking constantly. Then pour back into the saucepan.
Bring to a boil whisking constantly. Cook until thickened 1-2 minutes. Strain into a bowl using a fine mesh sieve. Stir in butter, vanilla, lemon extract, and zest. Cover with plastic wrap touching the top of the cream. Refrigerate until cool.
11. To make ganache, in microwave heat cream in a glass bowl for 1 minute. Add chocolate chips. Cover loosely with a towel for 5 minutes. Whisk together until chocolate melts.
12. Make whipped cream by whipping heavy cream in chilled bowl of stand mixer fitted with the chilled whisk attachment on medium-high speed. Once it forms soft peaks add powdered sugar and vanilla and whip until it forms stiff peaks.
13. Cut strawberries lengthwise slices. Quarter each slice lengthwise to look like bunny ears.
14. To assemble: Dip the top of each puff in ganache. Let dry. Cut each puff in half. Fill with pastry cream. Pipe whipped cream on top and insert strawberry bunny ears.
