Make curd the day ahead

Bring a saucepan of water to a simmer. In a metal bowl that fits tightly over saucepan, put ½ cup sugar; add eggs and lemon juice; whisk to blend. Place bowl over saucepan of simmering water, making sure water does not touch bottom of bowl. Cook, whisking constantly, until curd thickens. Curd will start out light and foamy, then thicken. When whisk leaves tracks in curd as you stir, it is almost ready. Remove from heat when custard reaches 180°, about 8 min. Transfer to blender or food processor. Let curd rest about 2 min, stirring occasionally until it cools to 140°. Blend curd on HIGH, adding 1 tablespoon of butter at a time as it blends and scraping down sides of container as needed. After all butter is added, blend additional 3-4 minutes. Transfer curd to airtight container. Chill overnight. (Curd can be refrigerated for up to five days or frozen for up to a month.)

Make the pastry

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut puff pastry sheet into thirds, using the seams where it was folded as a guide. Dust lightly with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Bake 15 minutes until it puffs up and turns golden brown. Remove from oven. Cover hot pastry with sheet of parchment paper and a separate clean baking sheet. Press down top baking sheet to help flatten puff pastry. Return to oven, covered with top baking sheet. Bake about 8 minutes until crisp; set aside to cool.

Assemble dessert

Spread 1 section of puff pastry with half of lemon curd, and place on serving plate. Top with half of sliced strawberries. Place second section of pastry on work surface. Layer with remaining curd and strawberries; place atop first layer on serving plate. Top with third section of puff pastry. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar; garnish with berry. Slice with a serrated knife and serve!