Blueberry lemon cream pastries are a bakery worthy treat! They feature crisp and tender puff pastry shells filled with from scratch lemon pastry cream and fresh blueberries on top. It's the perfect mix of crisp, creamy, and juicy textures with light and bright flavor in every bite.
lemon pastry cream
We're starting this recipe off with the lemon pastry cream so it has enough time to chill and firm up. This filling is a take on classic pastry cream but with the addition of lemon zest and juice for some added freshness and flavor.
- Egg yolks: Just like any classic pastry cream, this lemon cream starts off with egg yolks for richness, color, and thickening. The yolks are first whisked together with sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest to help ensure a smooth and even pastry cream.
- Lemon zest: The zest is whisked in with the egg yolk mixture to flavor the pastry cream from start to finish. When it's whipped with the other ingredients, it draws out the natural lemon oil in the zest and enhances the flavor in the entire pastry cream.
- Milk + cream: We're using a mix for this pastry cream for added richness and for a thicker, more velvety texture. You could use all milk or all cream if that's all you have on hand, but I find a mix of the 2 provides the best flavor and texture.
- Tempering: This sounds more complicated than it is! Tempering the egg yolks is simply the process of gradually warming them up so they don't curdle. To do this, the milk and cream are warmed on the stove before slowly being mixed into the egg yolk mixture to temper it. Once that's done, the whole mixture is added back into the pot and cooked again until it thickens. This process gradually warms up the egg yolks and dissolves the other ingredients to ensure the pastry cream cooks up smooth and creamy.
- Strain: After cooking the pastry cream, whisk in the remaining ingredients to combine and then run the whole thing through a fine mesh strainer. This will remove the lemon zest bits as well as any potential clumps that may have found their way into the pastry cream.
- Cool: When cooling pastry cream, it's important to press plastic wrap right against the surface of the cream. This helps keep air out and prevents the formation of skin. Chill the pastry cream in the fridge for at least 1 hour or until fully cool and thickened before using.
prepping the puff pastry dough
- Cut out the puff pastry rectangles and score the tops. Store bought puff pastry sheets are usually folded like a letter, so those vertical creases can be used as a little guide for dividing the sheet in thirds - then all that's left is to cut the sheet horizontally down the middle to create 6 rectangles. Use a sharp knife to score smaller rectangles in the pastries to create a ¼" border (as you can see in the photo below). Don't cut all the way through when scoring the smaller border - just cut about halfway down.
- Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle raw sugar on top.
- Bake the pastry shells. The pastries will turn a rich golden brown color and puff up, but you should still be able to make out a rough outline of the little border you cut earlier.
assembling the blueberry lemon cream pastries
Now for the best part! To assemble, start by hollowing out the centers of the pastries to make room for the pastry cream. It's best to do this while they're still warm and malleable - as they cool, they will crisp up and become a bit delicate and more likely to crack / break.
To create a little bed for the pastry cream, you have 2 options: you can cut out and remove the centers (as you can see in the photo below) or press down and flatten the centers. If you go with option 1 and remove the centers, the leftover pastry can be served next to the filled pastries or they also make a delicious snack on their own!
Once the centers are taken care of, let the shells cool completely before filling. To fill the cooled shells, I find it's easiest to fill a piping bag with the lemon pastry cream and pipe it into the centers - but you can also just spoon the filling in. Top with fresh blueberries and a light dusting of powdered sugar before digging in!
no egg wash?
In order to avoid having to crack open an additional egg for an egg wash, an easier alternative is to brush the pastries with heavy cream (or milk if that's all you have on hand) then sprinkle sugar on top. Milk will give the pastries a slightly duller / lighter colored appearance when compared to heavy cream.
Heavy cream will give the pastries a slight shine and will help the sugar stick on top. The sugar will add some sweetness, crunch, and will help the surface caramelize and brown. The pastries will brown in (more or less) the same way as they would had you used an egg wash, but by using heavy cream, you don't have to worry about having anything leftover!
what to do with leftover egg whites
You'll have 2 egg whites leftover from the filling which you can use for a bunch of different things! Cracked egg whites will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge - so you will have a bit of time to decide how you want to use them up. Here are just a few ideas for what to do with the leftover whites:
- Omelette: Probably one of the easiest ways to use up extra egg whites. Fry them up and enjoy them for breakfast!
- Meringue cookies: With 2 egg whites, you can make a half batch of my meringue cookies for another delicious treat to snack on.
- Macarons: Again, you'll need to make half of the recipe, but French macarons are another treat that you can make with leftover egg whites.
- Egg wash: Egg whites make a great egg wash and you can even use them for these pastries if you'd like. The only thing to note is that egg washes that use egg whites will not brown quite as well as egg washes that feature the fattiness from the yolks.
- Pies & tarts: Egg whites are also really helpful when making pies with softer fillings: brush some lightly beaten egg white onto the bottom of a partially baked tart or pie crust and then bake it in the oven again to set the egg. This will create a little protective layer to keep the crusts extra crispy.
- Other desserts: There are a lot of desserts that can be made with leftover egg whites. Angel food cake, pavlova, meringues, egg white frostings, and macaroons are all some other dessert ideas! You can also make my hot chocolate poke cake recipe which uses exactly 2 egg whites for the marshmallow inspired filling!
eggless filling ideas
I know eggs are crazy expensive (and sometimes difficult to come by) so it may not be super convenient to make the lemon pastry cream portion of this recipe. There are a lot of different filling options for these pastries that will still give you a bakery worthy treat without the need to purchase eggs. Depending on which brands you use, some of these alternatives may include eggs, so if you have an allergy, I would just be mindful of the ingredients listed on whichever products you use!
- Store bought lemon curd: This is one of the options that will likely have eggs included in the ingredients, so keep an eye out for that if you're trying to avoid eggs altogether. But otherwise, this is a really quick and easy alternative that will still give you a deliciously lemony filling.
- Instant pudding / custard: An easy hack to get the same texture as homemade pastry cream but in a more budget friendly way.
- Whipped cream: You'll need about ½ a cup of cold heavy whipping cream, 1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you'd like it), and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Combine them all together in a bowl, then whip until it reaches stiff peaks before using it to fill the cool pastry shells.
- Jam / jelly: You can pick whichever fruits you'd like and use either store bought or homemade jam.
- Nut butters: This will kind of move away from the lemon blueberry theme, but some creamy peanut butter or Nutella in the center of these pastries would be heavenly!
storage
The pastry cream needs to be kept in the fridge, so any filled pastries should be stored in the fridge until you're ready to serve them. Keep them covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days. The puff pastry shells will lose some of their crunch the longer they sit, so that's just something to be mindful of when storing these pastries.
check out these other recipes!
• Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes
• Lemon Berry Cake
• Lemon Brownies
• Blueberry Muffins
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
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Blueberry Lemon Cream Pastries
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 pastries
Description
Blueberry lemon cream pastries are a bakery worthy treat! They feature crisp and tender puff pastry shells filled with from scratch lemon pastry cream and fresh blueberries on top. It's the perfect mix of crisp, creamy, and juicy textures with light and bright flavor in every bite.
Ingredients
For the lemon pastry cream:
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- ½ cup (120mL) whole milk
- ½ cup (120mL) heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the pastries:
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons raw sugar*
- 1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and drained
- powdered sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
Make the lemon pastry cream:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest until combined. The mixture will start off looking dry, but as you whisk, it will loosen up into a liquid mixture. Set aside.
- In a medium pot, combine milk and heavy cream. Heat over medium heat until it starts steaming and the edges are just slightly bubbly. Do not boil.
- While whisking constantly, slowly drizzle the warm milk/cream into the bowl with the egg mixture. If you find it difficult to whisk and pour at the same time, pour in about 2 tablespoons of the warm milk at a time and pause to whisk after each addition. It's important to go slowly to avoid scrambling the eggs with the hot milk mix.
- Once combined, pour the whole mixture back into your pot.
- Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens to the consistency of pudding (about 3-5 minutes).
- Take it off the heat and whisk in the lemon juice, butter, and vanilla until smooth and combined.
- Run the pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl to remove any lemon zest or undissolved ingredients.
- Cover the warm pastry cream with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface to prevent skin formation. Pop it into the fridge for 1-2 hours or until fully chilled and firmed up.
Make the pastries:
- Preheat your oven to 375F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Unfold your sheet of puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper then use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to divide it into 6 rectangles. It helps to use the seams from when it was folded to cut twice lengthwise and then cut once down the middle widthwise.
- Arrange the cutout puff pastries about 2 inches apart on your baking sheet. Use a sharp knife to score another smaller rectangle about ¼ inch inwards (see above post for photo). Don't cut all the way through - just cut about halfway down.
- Lightly brush the tops of the puff pastry cutouts with heavy cream then sprinkle raw sugar evenly on top.
- Bake the pastry rectangles in the center of your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until puffed and golden brown on top.
- Take them out of the oven, and while they're still warm, cut around the lines you scored earlier and either remove the center or press down the middles to create an indent for the pastry cream. It's easiest to do this while they're still warm before the puff pastry cools and hardens.
- Cool the puff pastry shells completely before filling.
- Take the chilled pastry cream out of the fridge and transfer it to a piping bag. Pipe the pastry cream into the centers of the cooled puff pastry shells.
- Sprinkle a handful of fresh blueberries on top of each pastry and then dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
* Raw sugar (also called Turbinado Sugar) can be found in most grocery stores or in online shops like Amazon. It's light brown in color and the granules are visibly larger than granulated or brown sugar. When you sprinkle it over a pie or tart crust before baking, it helps it brown and gives it a beautiful crunch.
If you can't get your hands on raw sugar, coarse sparkling sugar also works. In a pinch, plain granulated sugar will work to help add sweetness and help with browning, but the puff pastry will be a little less crisp.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Bake Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
Enjoy!
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