Lemon And Vanilla Cream Cups With Lacy Tuile Balls

The finishing touch to this dish is, of course, the tuile balls. Follow the directions carefully and the results will be perfect. Have patience! It takes time to get to know your oven so you can pinpoint the precise time to remove the tuile strips. Yield: 20 cups

Directions

Prepare the Tuile Balls

1. In a food processor, mix butter, confectioners’ sugar, flour, and egg whites for one to two minutes, until a smooth cream forms.

2. Refrigerate for one hour. (While the tuile cream chills, prepare the lemon and vanilla creams, below).

3. Preheat oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius). Line a baking sheet with Gefen Parchment Paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.

4. Remove tuile cream from the refrigerator and spread in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.

5. Using a decorative comb, comb cream to form thin strips.

6. Bake for three to four minutes.

7. Remove from the oven while the strips are still malleable and not entirely baked. Working quickly, form each strip into a lacy ball with your hands. Let cool.

Prepare the Lemon Cream

1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar to combine well.

2. In a saucepan, heat milk with lemon zest and bring to a boil. Slowly pour hot milk over eggs, whisking constantly.

3. Return mixture to the saucepan. Add lemon juice and heat to 185 degrees Fahrenheit (85 degrees Celsius), whisking constantly. If a thermometer is not available, cook until slightly thickened.

4. Remove from the heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth.

5. Add butter and mix well.

6. Using an immersion blender, blend cream until smooth and velvety.

Prepare the Vanilla Cream

1. In a small saucepan, bring milk, cream, and vanilla bean to a boil.

2. Remove vanilla bean. With a sharp knife, cut in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the hot milk.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks.

4. Slowly pour hot milk into the sugar mixture, whisking vigorously.

5. Return mixture to the saucepan and continue cooking, mixing constantly, until it thickens.

6. Remove from heat, add butter, and mix until combined. Let cool.

7. In an electric mixer, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the cooled cream.

Assemble

1. Layer the lemon cream and vanilla cream in dessert cups, reserving a small amount of vanilla cream for the garnish. You can make four layers alternating the two types of cream. Alternately, create the design in the picture: Pipe some vanilla cream into a cup, lay it diagonally in an egg container, and freeze for 30 minutes. Pipe lemon cream next and freeze diagonally for another 30 minutes. Finally, pipe a second layer of vanilla cream.

2. To garnish, lay a yellow macaron across the top of each cup, smooth side up. Right before serving, attach a tuile ball to it with a dab of cream.