Tic Tac Tart’s BEST EVER Lemon Bars
A browned butter shortbread crust, tart lemon filling, and a final flourish of powdered sugar make these lemon bars a delicious photo-worthy dessert!
When life gives you lemons, make lemon bars.
With a lot of free time on our hands these days, and an abundance of lemons growing in our backyard finally ready to be picked, we figured now was the right time to perfect one of our favorite summer treats! Okay, it’s not really summer, not even close. But with 90-degree weather, tangy citrusy lemon bars sound like the perfect refreshing treat.
To make the perfect lemon bars, we decided that the best place to start was to do some research online. We looked for well-rated recipes that would offer a bright, lemony curd on top of a sweet, buttery crust. We chose Cook’s Illustrated’s Best Lemon Bars which turned out to be a very informative and yet, fairly simple recipe. We thought it was pretty good, but the curd wasn’t tart enough and the crust cooked to a dark golden brown was too firm and a bit crunchy. The next recipe we tried was Stella Parks’ Sunny Lemon Bars, which had more ingredients and more complicated instructions. These were more tart, which we liked and the optional topping of lemon-flavored chantilly cream and candied pistachios was interesting. The main issue with this recipe was that the curd was very eggy, more custard-like than curd.
After quite a bit of testing, we ended up with the recipe written down below. This recipe includes a lot of lemon juice, zest, and some cream of tartar to get that tanginess all lemon bars should have. To combat the extra liquid, we settled on 5 egg yolks and a bit of flour to firm things up. We found that with 3 egg yolks the curd just wasn’t set enough, and with 8 you could really taste the egg and it left a slight aftertaste. The 5 egg yolks left a soft, but fairly structured curd that’s tart, but not too tart. We decided the crust should be reminiscent of shortbread cookies with that soft, buttery bite. The crust should be delicious on its own, not just something to hold the curd. We decided to brown the butter and add a little vanilla extract to really pump up the flavor. The crust itself is so delicious, it might be the basis for our next cookie! To complete the bars, we added a good layer of powdered sugar and some vanilla whipped cream for added sweetness.
Now, on to the recipe!
Tic Tac Tart’s BEST EVER Lemon Bar
Equipment
- Zester
- Juicer
Ingredients
Crust
- 5 oz (142g) all-purpose flour
- 2 oz (57g) granulated sugar
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 4 oz (113g) unsalted butter
Filling
- 9½ oz (270g) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp (16g) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 3 large eggs, cold
- 5 large egg yolks, cold
- 1 tbsp (8g) grated lemon zest, packed about 3 lemons worth
- 1⅓ cup (310g) lemon juice about 8 large lemons
- 2 oz (57g) unsalted butter cut into small pieces
Vanilla Whipped Cream Topping
- 8 oz (240g) heavy cream
- 3 tbsp (23g) powdered sugar plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F.
- Place parchment paper into an 8-inch square alluminum pan, ensuring parchment is tucked into corners and going all the way up the sides of the pan.
- Melt butter in a saucepan until it smells nutty and specks are golden brown.
- Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in a bowl. Add melted butter (should be cooled at this point, still liquid, and about 100°F). Add vanilla extract and stir with a rubber spatula until fully combined.
- Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press into an even layer over the entire bottom of the pan.
- Bake the crust until it is a light golden color, about 20 minutes.
Filling
- While crust bakes, whisk sugar, flour, cream of tartar, and salt together into the now-empty bowl.
- Whisk in eggs and yolks until fully incorporated.
- Whisk in lemon zest and juice.
- Transfer mixture into now-empty saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and registers 170°F. About 5-10 minutes.
- Off heat, stir in butter.
- Strain filling through fine mesh strainer set over hot crust. Tilt pan or use rubber spatula to spread evenly.
- Bake until filling is set and barely jiggles when pan is shaken, about 10-14 minutes.
- Let bars cool completely, at least 1½ hours. The curd will continue to set while cooling.
- Using parchment overhang, lift bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into bars, using a knife or bench scraper, wiping clean between each cut.
Topping
- While bars are cooling, place heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract into the bowl.
- Whip using a stand mixer or whisk by hand until peaks begin to form.
- Just before serving, dust bars with powdered sugar using a sieve and top each with a dollop of whipped cream.
With my love of all things design and food, it was only natural for me to start a blog. I want to share with others my adventures as I travel, eat, read, photograph, and discover my way through Sacramento. As a Realtor, it’s important to me to know what’s happening in my community. And why not share that with you?