Perfect Lemon Bars
This one took a lot of experimentation. I probably made at least 3-4 failed batches before I was able to finalize this recipe.
I like my lemon bars ice cold on a hot day, with a refreshing gel like texture, a delicate balance of sweet and tart, and a satisfying crisp crust. I took a riff on an old recipe and used some extra egg yolks and corn starch to get the texture spot on, some cream of tartar for extra acidity, and a blind-baked crispy crust with lemon zest for extra punch.
LEMON BARS
Yield: 9 bars
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1h15m
INGREDIENTS:
Crust:
1 c. flour
½ c. butter, room temp
¼ c. powdered sugar
½ Tbsp vanilla bean paste (or pure extract)
Zest of two lemons (the ones you will later juice!)
Filling:
4 eggs
1 egg yolks
4 Tbsp corn starch
4 Tbsp flour
1 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
½ tsp salt
1½ c. sugar
5-7 Tbsp lemon juice (from 3-4 lemons)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
RECIPE:
Preheat oven to 350F.
To make crust: cream sugar and butter in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in flour until well hydrated. Press into the bottom of a parchment-sling lined 8x8 baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.
Cool oven to 275F.
To make filling: Beat eggs and egg yolks, and mix in the lemon juice slowly. Add in the sugar, salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla extra. Once well combined, sift in flour and cornstarch. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the crust.
Bake at 275F for 15m, then cover with aluminum foil (see note). Bake for another 20-30m, until internal temp reaches 170F, do not let it go above 175-180F. There should still be a bit of jiggle when you pull it from the oven.
Cool to room temp, freeze, and then cut with a wet knife for clean edges. Dust with powdered sugar and devour.
HELPFUL NOTES:
To get the proper custard-to-crust ratio, it’s important you use an 8x8 dish for this. Even slightly bigger and your bars will be noticeably thinner with a different texture. If you use a different sized dish, you’re taking fate into your own hands.
It’s easier to fit the dish with aluminum foil before baking, so you can simply slide the aluminum foil on with mitted hands during baking.
It is essential you don’t brown the edges here, and that you don’t overcook the curd. If you don’t have a thermometer, shake the pan every 10 minutes and pull when you only get a slight jiggle.