Lemon bars

Adapted from David Lebovitz

Minimalistic desert, in terms of presentation, taste as well as the work which is required to make them.

Lemon bar is a wonderful sweet treat for lazy cooks who want to impress guests but don’t like to stand in the kitchen baking for half of the day. I love these lemon bars because they have such a condensated, strong taste that you need to eat just a tiny piece to fulfill your dessert craving. Extremely lemony-tasting, sweet and refreshing the same time – they make a perfect finish after a heavy dinner.

I like my lemon bars very flat, so I use rather big baking dish (25x20cm). When I made them once in a smaller baking dish, the crust was too heavy and the topping to thick for my taste. You need to find the balance which suits your taste best.

Ingredients:

Crust

140g  flour
50g cane sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
115g melted butter
½ vanilla bean

Lemon Topping

1 medium lemon, organic or unsprayed
180g cane sugar
50 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 large eggs, room temperature
4 teaspoons corn or potato starch
¼ teaspoon salt
50g melted butter

Optional: powdered sugar, for serving

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

2. Line the baking dish with aluminium foil, so the edges are 2 cm high. Smooth it as best as you can.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar (50g), ¼ teaspoon salt, melted butter(115g), and vanilla, stirring just until smooth.

4. Smooth the batter into the bottom of the baking dish, using your hands or a small spatula.

5. Bake the crust for 25 minutes, or until it’s deep golden-brown.

6. While the crust is baking, cut the lemon in half, remove the seeds, and cut the lemon into chunks.

7. Put the chunks of lemon in a food processor or blender along with the sugar and lemon juice; let it run until the lemon is completely broken up. Gradualy add the eggs, corn starch, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and melted butter (50g), and blend until almost smooth. (A few tiny bits of lemon pieces are normal and encouraged.)

8. When the crust comes out of the oven, reduce the temperature to 150ºC. Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust and bake for 25 minutes or just until the filling stops jiggling and is barely set.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Once cool, carefully lift out grasping the foil. Cut the bars into squares or rectangles. Sift powdered sugar over the top just before serving, if desired.

Storage: The bars will keep in an airtight container at room temperature up to three days. You can also  freeze them for up to one month, letting them come to room temperature before serving.