Italian Lobster Tail Pastry Recipe
Prep Time:
5 hours
Cook Time:
25 minutes
Servings:
12 pastries
Ingredients
  • 3 ½ cups bread flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup lukewarm water
  • 8 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • ⅓ cup flour
  • 1 (15-ounce) can evaporated milk
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • ⅛ cup powdered sugar
Directions
  1. Add the bread flour and salt to a large bowl. In another bowl, dissolve the sugar and vanilla in the lukewarm water.
  2. Slowly add the water mixture to the flour, stirring as you incorporate. The dough should be rough and slightly crumbly in texture. It will come together as it is rolled in the pasta maker.
  3. Knead the dough on a flat, floured surface until it becomes a bit more smooth. Cut the dough in fourths and place the piece of dough through the pasta roller on the largest setting, typically zero. Fold the dough into thirds and put it through the pasta roller again. Repeat until you have a smooth sheet of dough. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
  4. Stack the 4 sheets of dough on top of each other, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  5. Roll the stacked dough with a rolling pin to press it into one sheet. At this point, you can either move on to the rolling stage or cut the dough into four (or more) pieces to make it easier to work with.
  6. Roll the dough through the pasta roller on each setting until you reach the thinnest setting. Dusting it with flour, roll it onto a rolling pin. If you divided the dough, repeat with remaining dough, connecting the ends to form one long sheet.
  7. Combine the room-temperature butter and shortening in a bowl. Pull the sheet of dough off of the rolling pin and stretch it to create a wider sheet. Begin spreading the butter mixture onto the sheet and roll it into a very tight log. Continue to pull the dough off of the rolling pin, generously greasing it and rolling it into the tight log.
  8. Continue until the entire sheet of dough is rolled into a tight, fat log. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  9. While it is chilling, prepare the filling. Whisk together the sugar and eggs in a medium-sized bowl until they are well combined. Whisk in the flour vigorously to avoid clumping.
  10. Heat the evaporated milk in a saucepan until hot. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking quickly. Once it is all incorporated, add it back into the saucepan and cook it on medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens, about 3 minutes.
  11. Whisk in the salt, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Set aside the mixture to cool.
  12. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
  13. Remove the log from the refrigerator and cut it into 1-inch thick rounds.
  14. Flatten a round with your thumbs and then turn it inside out, gently pushing the center out to form a cone. Be careful not to separate the delicate layers too much.
  15. Fill the cone with 2 tablespoons of filling and seal the edges as best you can. Place the completed pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining rounds.
  16. Brush each pastry with melted butter and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  17. Sprinkle the hot pastries with powdered sugar and eat while still warm.