Lemon Meringue Choux: Lemon choux, my way

I love the tangy taste of the lemon, it's refreshing and it can be use in many kinds of sweet too.

But my favourite sweet is lemon meringue, it's the best combination. Sweetness from the meringue (with a little brunt caramel like taste) goes very well with the tanginess of the lemon. You can find this combination in many forms now, but today I make it in a choux pastry. I had this kind of choux on my last UK trip and really love it. 
But I think the one that I had is a bit too sweet to my taste, I love the lemon cream to have real tanginess (some people think it too tangy), so when paring with the sweet meringue you will get the right balance ^^. 
This choux is very easy to make, there are only 3 parts of the element, choux pastry, lemon cream and meringue. You can bake the choux pastry the day before, and finish the work the next day. Warming the lemon cream (or use it while it still warm), is the best way to prevent the meringue to become weeping in the fridge. As it will stick into the lemon cream, so don't forget this technique.
I can eat it without any drink to accompany it, haha, but if you want tea is the best friend for this lemon dessert.

Lemon Meringue Choux

Makes about 10 pieces 

Choux pastry
90g ........................... Water
40g ........................... Unsalted butter
5g ............................. Granulated sugar
................................... A pinch of salt
50g .......................... Cake flour
2 .............................. Eggs (You will use more or less)

 Lemon cream
88g ......................... Eggs
10g ......................... Corn starch
72g ......................... Granulated sugar
80g ........................ Lemon juice
65g ........................ Unsalted butter
............................... Pinch of salt

Italian meringue
40g ....................... Egg white
75g ....................... Granulated sugar
2tsp ...................... Water

 Preheat the oven to 200C.
Line the baking sheet with baking paper or silpat.
Put the butter, water, sugar and salt into a saucepan.
Place over medium heat until fully boil.

 Sift the flour, when the mixture become boil, remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the sifted flour into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture over low heat for 2-3 minutes.

 Remove from the heat.
Beat with hand mixer until barely warm.

Add the egg into the bowl, you may not need all the egg (or you may need more ^^). 

When the batter is smooth and glossy, test with your finger, you will be able to stretch it.

Fill a pastry bag with the pastry and, using a 2.5cm star nozzle, squeeze the pastry to make 12.5x 2.5 cm éclairs on to the prepared baking sheets allowing space for them to rise separately.

Bake for 20 minutes  then lower the heat to 180°C and bake for another 15-20 minutes or light and holds its shape.

Put all the ingredients except the butter into a saucepan, whisk to combine and place over low heat.
Cook until thicken, whisk all the time.

Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl, place the butter over the mixture.

After the butter start melting, stir slowly.

Until the mixture smooth.
Put the lemon cream in a piping bag (don't cut the tip of the bag until you're ready to use it).

Make the Italian meringue follow this method.
Fit a piping bag with star tip.
Put the Meringue into the piping bag.

Cut the top of the choux pastry.
Cut the tip of the piping bag and pipe the Lemon cream into the choux pastry.

Pipe the Italian meringue over the lemon cream and burn the meringue with a blow torch.
* if the Lemon cream is not warm, heat it with blow torch before piping the Italian meringue, this will help the meringue to stick to the lemon cream better.

Lemon Meringue Choux: Lemon choux, my way