The rose petal jam recipe from the other day was so unusual, I was inspired to find other ways to use the jam. My first thought was cream puffs. Not sure why as I am not really a dessert cook. But I pictured light cream puffs like my mother used to make filled with a creamy rose petal filling. This concoction did not disappoint, although while the adults loved the filling, the kids opted for whipped cream instead.

Cream puffs are made from a choux pastry. Although I have been cooking for decades, and my mother used to make cream puffs on a regular basis, I had never made anything from choux pastry before. It really isn’t as difficult as I expected. Even so, the cream puffs themselves were not expertly done.  Choux  pastry has only a few ingredients; water, butter, flour and eggs, but the recipe I used called for much more flour than most choux pastry recipes. My recommendation is to use whatever recipe works best for you. Besides, it’s the filling that is the star of this show.

Mascarpone cheese is similar to cream cheese, just so much better! It’s not as heavy as cream cream cheese, but has a richer flavor. Most of us only know of mascarpone cheese as an ingredient in tiramisu. It can be pricy, but is worth every penny. This recipe makes enough filling for approx. 40 bite-sized cream puffs.

Recipe:

• 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp grated lemon peel
• 2 Tbsp rose petal jam
• 3 Tbsp heavy cream
• 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 drop red food coloring (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate if mixture is too soft and runny. It only takes a 1/2 hour or so for mixture to “set-up.” Split cream puffs and fill with mixture. Sprinkle puffs with additional powdered sugar. Serve immediately.