Lemon Marshmallow Filled Croissants

If there’s one thing I've learned from my days in the pie shop, it's that lemon marshmallow is a flavor that sticks with you all. It was one of my most popular pies, and for good reason. Tart lemon and mildly sweet marshmallow just do something amazing for each other.

So, when I decided to venture into the world of croissants, it only made sense to bring back that beloved flavor. And thus, the Lemon Marshmallow Filled Croissants were born.

I know what you're thinking: croissants can be intimidating. Trust me, I get it. But let me assure you, they're not as difficult as they seem. With a little patience and practice, you'll be churning out golden, flaky pastries like you were born for it.

The key is to take it one step at a time. Start with a good croissant dough recipe (you can find mine under the "Breakfast Bakes" category on my blog), and don't rush the process. Let the dough rest, fold it carefully, and give it plenty of time to rise.

As for the filling, it's as simple as whipping up a batch of lemon curd and folding in some homemade marshmallow fluff. Bake your croissants and fill them up. That’s literally it.

The result? The perfect combination of tangy lemon and sweet marshmallow, all wrapped up in a buttery, flaky croissant. Whatever it is your craving, this should be it.

With love,

Your Baker, Hannah

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Lemon Marshmallow Filled Croissants

Yield: 12

Author: Hannah Eaton - Dear Old Bakehouse

Prep time: 3 HourCook time: 40 MinInactive time: 18 HourTotal time: 21 H & 40 M

A homemade flakey croissant, filled with a silky-smooth swirl of lemon curd and marshmallow meringue. Perfectly tart paired with a buttery pastry!

Ingredients

For the Croissant Dough, Laminating, and Egg Wash

• ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 10 grams yeast
• For Laminating: 2 sticks + 2 Tablespoons butter
• For Egg Wash: 1 egg + 1 Tablespoon water

For the Lemon Curd:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• The juice and zest of 2 whole lemons
• 2 large eggs- room temperature

For the Marshmallow Meringue

• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

For the Croissants:

1. For the Dough: In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes or until the yeast has gotten foamy,
2. Add flour (make sure to fluff your flour with a fork before measuring), remaining sugar, salt, and melted butter.
3. Mix on low, until a shaggy dough begins to form. Continue mixing on low for 3-4 minutes before turning off the mixer. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky (you do not want to develop much gluten at this stage). Cover the dough with a damp towel or some oiled plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to rise for 2-3 hours until doubled in size.
4. While your dough rises, place 2 sticks + 2 tablespoons of butter onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Place a second piece of parchment over the top of the butter (to sandwich the butter in), and, with a rolling pin, lightly beat the butter into a square (roughly 8inx8in.).
5. Wrap the butter square in plastic wrap and leave in the fridge to stay cool. Pull the butter back out about 10-15 minutes before you are ready to roll out your dough (you want it to be cool, but lightly pliable).
6. Once the dough has doubled, remove it from the fridge and, using your fist, lightly punch out the excess air. Turn the dough out onto a (very) lightly floured work surface, and begin rolling into a 10in.x16in. rectangle.
7. Once you have rolled your dough into a rectangle, place your square of butter onto the left half of the dough, and fold the right half over on top of it, fully enclosing the butter with the dough. There should be a 1 in. rim of dough around the butter. Press these edges together lightly, sealing in the butter.
8. Roll the dough, with the butter encased in the middle, back out into a 10in.x16in rectangle. Be careful that no butter squeezes out of the edges.
9. To Laminate the Dough: The folding and refrigerating stages of baking croissants is incredibly important. This is where the wonderfully flakey layers of the pastry are formed by rolling the dough and folding it over on itself multiple times to create exponential layers of butter. There are two typical folds that are used to create these layers. They are:
10. The Envelope Fold: The dough is folded into thirds, as you would fold a letter when trying to fit it into an envelope (folding the bottom third up to cover the middle third, and folding the top third down to cover the bottom third)
11. The Book Fold: The dough is folded into four, and ends up looking like a closed book. (The ends of the dough are folded in to meet in the middle. The dough is then folded again at the center line that was created, much like closing a thick book.)When completing the next steps, please refer back to these explanations as they are used in the directions.
12. Take your 10in.x16in. rectangle of dough and perform an envelope fold (see the explanation on how to do this above). After folding, lightly wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to rest for 20-30 minutes. This allows the butter to get cold once again, and allows the gluten strands to relax. (At this point, you have 3 layers of butter)
13. After your dough has rested, remove it from the fridge, turn 90 degrees from its previous position on your table when you performed your first roll and fold, and roll it once again into a 10in.x16in. rectangle, making sure the layers remain in place and the butter does not squeeze out of the sides.
14. Proceed to perform a book fold on the dough (see the explanation on how to do this above). Wrap once again in plastic wrap, and allow to rest in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. (At this point, you have 12 layers of butter).
15. Remove the dough from the fridge once again, turn 90 degrees from its previous positions on your table on the second roll and fold, and roll into a 10in.x16in. rectangle.
16. Perform an envelope fold on the dough. Wrap one last time in plastic wrap, and place the dough into the fridge to bulk ferment overnight (8-12 hours. At this point, you have 36 layers of butter.) This creates the most ideal texture and flavor in your croissants.
17. To Cut and Shape the Croissants: The next morning, remove your dough from the fridge, and place on a lightly floured surface. Grab your rolling pin, and roll into a 12in.x26in. rectangle. Trim an inch off of each side to give yourself a 10inx24in rectangle that can be cut into equal parts.
18. Using a ruler, make a vertical cut into the dough every 4 inches along the width of the rectangle, cutting the rectangle into 6 equal pieces that measure 4in-wide x 10in-tall.
19. Using a pizza cutter, take each 4 inch rectangle, and cut it from one corner to the corner on the diagonal from it, cutting the rectangle into 2 equally sized triangles. After cutting each rectangle, you should have 12 equally sized triangles.
20. To roll your croissants, take a triangle of dough, and in the center of the wide base of the triangle, make a 3 cm long vertical cut towards the point.
21. Spread the dough lightly on either side of the cut, separating the cut slightly, and lightly roll the dough into a spiral towards the point. Do not roll too tightly or the croissant will not keep its light, flakey texture. Repeat this process with the remaining 11 triangles of dough.
22. Once you have rolled all 12 triangles, place them on 2 separate cookie sheets (6 on each) and cover with a damp cloth. Leave them to proof for 1 ½ - 2 hours in a cool spot on your counter, or until they have a slight wobble to them when you shake them. (Do not leave them to proof in a warm spot, or the butter layers will leak out of them, and leave you with an undesired outcome).
23. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
24. While your oven preheats, mix your egg with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush lightly over the tops and sides of the croissants. This will give them their signature deep brown color.
25. Place in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and flakey.

For the Lemon Curd

1. After the croissants have baked, in a small heat-resistant bowl, mix together sugar and lemon zest. (This will help draw the oils out of the zest for maximum flavor.) Let rest for 5 minutes.
2. Once the sugar and zest are finished resting, stir the lemon juice into the mixture until combined.
3. Next, crack both eggs and mix them very well into the sugar and lemon juice. Try to break up as much of the whites as you can.
4. Once fully combined, place a small saucepan filled with 3 inches of water on the stove and turn it to high heat until the water gently boils. Once the water boils, gently set your heat-resistant bowl on top of the pot with the boiling water. (The bowl should not be in the water, but resting over it. Allowing the steam from the water to hit the bottom of the bowl and slowly bring your lemon curd up to temperature). This is called a double boiler.
5. Stir your lemon mixture vigorously the entire time it is cooking to avoid getting lumps of cooked egg. You will know the lemon curd is finished cooking when it thickens up and coats the back of your spoon.
6. Once cooked, remove the lemon mixture from the heat and place it into the fridge to cool completely.
7. Once cool, move on to make the marshmallow meringue.

To Make the Marshmallow Meringue:

1. Combine the egg whites and the sugar in a heat resistant bowl. Whisk well.
2. Once again, place a small pot filled with 3 inches of water on the stove to prepare a double boiler.
3. Once the water has boiled, place your heat resistant bowl over the top of the water, and slowly heat your egg whites and sugar, whisking the entire time. You do not want to cook the eggs. You are only looking for the sugar to dissolve (completely) and the egg whites to get slightly warm. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat.
4. Immediately place your warm egg white mixture into the bowl of a clean stand mixer with the whisk attachment (if you do not have a stand mixer, you can use a clean bowl and an electric hand mixer), and whisk on high until medium, glossy peaks form. Turn off mixer, and set aside.

To Assemble:

1. Once the marshmallow meringue and lemon curd are both ready, gently place small dollops of lemon curd in with the marshmallow meringue in the mixing bowl.
2. With a rubber spatula, lightly fold the two fillings together, but do not mix completely. This will cause them to form a swirls as they are piped. Gently spoon the filling into a piping bag that is equipped with a filling tip.
3. Next, pick up one the of croissants, and make an opening in one of the pointed ends with the filling tip until it is about halfway into the croissant. Gently squeeze the pastry bag until the croissant begins expanding slightly, indicating that it is full. Repeat with all 12 croissants.
4. Once all croissants have been filled, dust lightly with powdered sugar, serve, and enjoy!

www.dearoldbakehouse.com

lemon, marshmallow, meringue, croissant, lemon curd, filled croissants

For This Recipe, You Will Need…

Mixing Bowls (Copy)

Rolling Pin (Copy)

Stand Mixer (Copy)

Hand Mixer (Copy)

Measuring Cups (Copy)