Lemon Bars
This bright Lemon Bars with shortbread crust recipe includes a buttery base and tangy lemon curd topping for a great zesty treat that is ideal for lunchboxes or when you need to bring a plate to a get together.
Servings 16
Calories 233kcal
Ingredients
Shortbread base
- 140 grams / 4.9 ounces butter room temperature
- 200 grams / 1 ¼ cups plain flour
Lemon curd
- 250 grams / 1 ¼ cups superfine/caster sugar
- 5 grams / 1 tablespoon lemon zest finely chopped
- 30 grams / ¼ cup corn starch sifted
- 153 grams / ⅔ cup lemon juice fresh
- 80 grams / 4 large egg yolks room temperature
- 200 milliliters / 1 cup - 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Shortbread base
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350F and line a baking tin with greaseproof paper.
- Place the flour and butter into a bowl and beat on low until the mixture looks like a rough crumble and no piece of butter is larger than a pea.
- Spoon into your baking dish and press firmly until even.
- Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until ever so slightly golden.
- Remove and allow to cool fully and lower the oven temperature to 140C/285F.
Lemon curd
- Place the sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and rub together to coat the zest thoroughly with sugar and draw out the oils in the peel.
- Toss into a small saucepan and add the corn starch and lemon juice placing on medium heat, stirring swiftly with a spatula until thickened and it has gone from looking cloudy to more transparent.
- Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and heavy cream in a separate bowl until combined.
- Remove from the heat and add in the egg and cream mixture, whisking swiftly to combine.
- Return to the heat and stir constantly until bubbling and thickened, approximately 3 minutes.
- Strain, if required, though not essential, on top of your shortbread base and spread out evenly.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until only slightly jiggly.
- Remove and allow to cool completely and then chill for several hours or preferably overnight.
- Slice into thick pieces and serve up.
- Sprinkle over a little confectioner's or icing sugar.
- Dig in!
Notes
- Corn starch: Sometimes termed cornflour in certain parts of the globe. Corn starch does need to be heated to 95C/203F before it is activated to thicken and acts as insurance in setting our center during the baking process alongside the egg yolks.
- Heavy cream: The fat in the heavy cream cuts through the intensity of the lemon flavor to mellow it out. You could substitute with non dairy heavy cream, though this has not been tested so the final result cannot be guaranteed.
- Lemon juice: This has to be fresh because bottled lemon juice tends to have additives to prolong it’s life and will not taste the same. Also, these lemon bars pack a punchy flavor - anyone who loves lemon will appreciate that; but anyone who doesn’t might say the flavor is a little too much. You could simply add 122 grams / ½ cup lemon juice instead, if you prefer.
- Small saucepan: To make the lemon curd, you’ll need a small saucepan or pot made of stainless steel because the acidity in lemon juice can risk tasting metallic (or turning green) if made in a reactive saucepan (think cast iron, unlined copper or aluminum).
- Offset spatula: A small spatula helps smooth out the shortbread and lemon curd layers.
- Baking tin: A 18x18 cm or 7x7 inch square baking tin works well here, though a rectangle tin would also work well. Note, the larger the tin from the one used here, the thinner your base and curd will be.
Nutrition
Calories: 233kcal