Lemon bars are to dessert what Tigger is to Winnie the Pooh. You’d be hard-pressed to find a friendlier, more accessible, sunshine-y, or more extroverted sweet treat. With lemon being the main ingredient, the bars will have a bit of a sour taste, which makes it perfect to be paired with richberry.
Yield: 18 square cut bars
INGREDIENTS
For the crust:
· 2 1/4 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
· 2/3 cup (152 g) granulated sugar
For the lemon filling:
· 4 large eggs
· 1 egg yolk
· 1/3 cup (43 g) all-purpose flour
· 2/3 cup lemon juice (from 3 lemons)
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1 cup (219 g) sugar
METHOD
Prepare the pan and preheat the oven: Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, leaving enough parchment paper to overhang the sides on the long end of the pan. You will use this to lift the bars out of the pan and cut them at the end. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Combine the dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
Add the butter: Cut the cold butter in cubes. Toss the cubes in flour. Pinch and smoosh the flour and butter together between your thumbs and fingers until the butter is coated with flour and broken into the flat butter pieces, between the sizes of smooshed almonds and peas. (Alternatively, you can blitz it in a food processor 6 or 7 times until the butter has a similar visual appearance.)
Bake the crust: Dump the crust into your prepared baking dish, press it down firmly it into an even layer with your fingers, and place in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The crust is ready when it looks dry and is slightly golden at the edges.
When the crust only has about 10 minutes left to bake, make your filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and yolk. Whisk in the flour until you no longer see clumps. Whisk in the lemon juice and vanilla.
Bake the lemon bars: When the crust has finished baking, remove it from the oven and pour the curd over the warm crust. Return to the oven. Bake for 12 minutes in a glass pan or 10 minutes in a metal pan. The filling is ready when it doesn’t jiggle and has lots of little bubbles on top. All ovens are different, so start checking 2 minutes before you think it’s ready. Don’t over-bake it, or the filling will be spongy.
Cool and cut the bars: Remove from oven and let cool for 1 hour, uncovered, either on the counter or in the refrigerator. Use the parchment sling to lift the bars onto a cutting board. Cut into squares.
Consume Miracle Berry: Just before digging in, chew 1 or more freeze-dried miracle berry (this can also be done during preparation of ingredients). Ensure to remove pits to avoid bitter taste.
Fact: The active ingredient miraculin from miracle berry will turn sour foods such as lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, non-fat yoghurt and other citrus food to taste sweet without adding sugar. We recommend two halves or 2 servings for maximum effectiveness. Make sure to follow instructions from the back of the packaging.
Note: Sometimes you may need to add at least 5-7% of the total quantity of sugar required, this is due to the chemistry of the food, however you may skip this as you wish. The goal is to totally reduce sugar and yet experience the same taste.
CALORIE SAVINGS:
2/3 cup (152 g) granulated sugar, 1 cup (219 g) sugar 1290 Calories
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