Beignets Filled with Meyer Lemon Curd

Not feeling the sunshine? Make some! What could be sunnier than beignets filled with tangy sweet meyer lemon curd? Meyer lemons are in peak and if you're not already stealing them from your neighbor's backyard then Whole Foods will definitely have them (for a price).

That kills me, that here in NYC I actually have to pay for meyer lemons. Ha-rumph! In the Bay Area they are practically free.

I got the idea of this recipe from Michael Laiskonis, the world famous pastry chef at Le Bernardin. He makes teeny tiny vanilla pastry cream filled beignets that are sent out at the end of the meal with a host of other miniature delicacies (petit fours, chocolates, etc). Every time I pass the pastry kitchen I stop and beg for one. They are so good, sooo more-ish, sooooo impossible to eat just one.

 My mini deep fryer ("Cuisinart CDF-100 Compact 1.1-Liter Deep Fryer, Brushed Stainless Steel" (Cuisinart)) makes beignets easy to fry up and it's one of the most useful small appliances I own. No joke. How else do you make steak frites? Or green bean tempura? Or fried calamari?

The trick to getting nice beignets is to keep the temperature of the oil a little lower than normal, around 350˚F. Otherwise the dough burns and cracks. Roll them around in the cinnamon sugar directly out of the fryer and let cool for a few minutes before piping lemon curd through a tiny incision. Lots of fun to watch cook because they puff up and spin around in the oil and – of course – even more fun to eat.

 

Let the sun shine in!

 

Beignets Filled with Meyer Lemon Curd

Ingredients

  Beinget batter:

1/2 cup water 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 tablespoon salt 1teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

Meyer Lemon Curd:

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons chopped lemon zest

3 large eggs 4 large egg yolks

3/4 cup meyer lemon juice

4 tablespoons butter, chilled

Instructions 

For beignet batter: combine water, butter, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add in the flour and stir constantly over medium heat until mixture comes together and has a shine. Continue to cook and stir for two minutes more.

Remove dough from heat and transfer to a medium mixing bowl. Add one egg at a time beating vigorously after each. The dough will separate and then come together again after every egg. The mixture should be smooth and shiny and make think ribbons.

Heat the deep fryer to 350˚F. Drop dough in carefully by the spoonful. When it is golden brown remove to a pan covered in paper towels and roll around in cinammon sugar.

Lemon Curd: prepare an ice bath for the curd in advance. In a double boiler add the lemon zest, sugar, eggs, and egg yolks and whisk. Continue to whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Once sugar is dissolved add the lemon juice and continue to whisk for 5 minutes (don't stop!). The curd is done when it is thick and heavy and reaches a temperature of 160˚F.

Tranfer curd to a food processor or bowl. Pulse or whisk while adding chilled butter piece by piece. Strain curd into a bowl and place in the ice bath to chill.  To stuff beignets with curd make a tiny incision into each puff. Put the lemon curd in a pastry bag (or use a makeshift plastic ziploc bag with the corner cut off) with a small pastry tip if you have it. Pipe curd in until the beignet feels heavy.

Comments

[Chef KPH]

Looks good, great even. (I'll make you jealous by saying my Meyer lemon tree is bursting with beautiful, ripe, sweet, juicy lemons) I live in CA.

Chin up. Keep on going. You have a bright future ahead. Cook hard.

[Ms. Glaze]

So jealous, I used to have a house in the sunny mission district of SF that had a gigantic meyer lemon tree. That tree was like a big ball of sunshine in the backyard year round. It never stopped producing. Ah, California. Still cold and wet here in NYC! And yes, cooking hard... which is much MUCH better than hardly cooking...

[Lianne]

Yum!
I'm having dinner at Le Berbardin on March 25. Do you think these will still be one of the treats then?
I too have a lovely Meyer Lemon here in rainy Petaluma, CA.
Is the secret of where you are in the wonderful world or restaurants out yet?

[Ms. Glaze]

Lianne – Michael Laskonis's beignets are much more refined than my home version and I am sure they will be on the menu when you come for dinner! (I hope they will be because I like to snack on them) The desserts at LB are incredible – visually stunning and delicious. See you in March!

[Susan at Sticky,Gooey,Creamy,Chewy]

Those look fantastic! I could never stop at just one either. How did you know that I just picked up a dozen Meyer lemons today at the market? ;)

[adele]

I don't need a deep-fryer. I don't have room for a deep-fryer. I can't afford the new wardrobe that would be the follow-on from buying a deep-fryer.

And yet... *sigh*

[bb]

Looks great. I was just looking to get a small fryer and will take your recommendation. Do you reuse oil? If so, what are the rules for doing so, i.e. filtering, cross-food cooking, how long to store, how to store. Thanks and love your blog.

[Ellen]

Oh my, looks delicious! Meyer lemons are just one of the things I miss about Ca :)

[Sara Goldrath]

You would get those lemons from my front yard!! Hope you are doing well...I'm thinking about you. I want to come up to NY in April!!!
;)
love love love

[Ms. Glaze]

Sara – Miss you too! Can't wait to see you in April! Let's see some shows. And yes, I adore you're 7 fruit trees.

Ellen – I know. Meyer lemons and dungeones crab.

BB – Great question. I try to switch out the oil every time. The deep fryer is really REALLY small and only uses about a litre and half of oil so it's not hard to get rid of it. Also, I find if you use the oil a few times the flavor of the previous food still lingers. Which might be fine if you're making nothing but beignets, but if you're deep frying oysters too, then...

This deep fryer is not the type to do large quantities of meat because the temperature will drop too low if you're trying to put in more than a few big pieces of protein. It's great for garnishes: fries, chips, tempura, beignets, etc.

It's also only $47 which makes it a bargain in my mind. I do a lot of fancy garnishes with it that make presentation fun and festive.

Adele – I know, I know, but once you've rid your cabinets of all the useless appliances then you'll have space! Toss the never-used heart shaped waffle iron and the egg poacher and the onion box chopper/mincer, and the ... ;-) Seriously, I own this and a Cuisinart c'est tout. Although I would like some one to give me a KitchenAid, then I might throw out everything else! (in brushed copper please!)

Susan – Can you fed ex some to NYC?

[Trine]

I came across this blog while searching for something completely different, but I have to say, I'm impressed. I'll definetely subscribe to the RSS feed. Looks yummi!

[bb]

Thanks for the input, I was leaning the same way but always nice to hear it form someone who knows! And if you're looking for a new blog idea, I would love to see some of those garnishes.

[luis]

Yes, beignetes...are yummy and bad for tha tummy. You don't wanna do a Paula Dean Sobe thang.... I know I don't.

[brilynn]

I need a deep fryer... those look great!

[Jessica]

So, hm, you beg for one every time you past by the pastry kitchen at LB. So that's where you're working? Marveilleux!!

[Sara]

I will take a dozen.

[Claudia]

Just curious, but does the restaurant where you work throw out the oil after every deep fry use? It's one reason why I don't deep fry very often.

[New Balance Sneakers]

The more you fight something, the more anxious you become ---the more you're involved in a bad pattern, the more difficult it is to escape. Do you understand?

[tori brown]

Ya know what that looks easy and yummy!!!!