I love sweet and tangy dessert treat particulary lemon bars BUT I don’t make them often enough because my family doesn’t like it that much, they find it too tart, especially my youngest child.
I usually just buy a piece for myself from a coffee shop whenever I have a craving for it..until recently. My daughter who is now 15, has developed a liking for lemon bars too, she used to turn her nose up on it when she was younger.
So upon her request, I started baking lemon bars again, but using calamansi instead because we always have calamansi in the fridge:) (calamansi actually is a citrus native to the Philippines, it’s like miniature limes, for more info in case you are not familiar with it, read here).
I have found a recipe that gives me the perfect lemon..err..calamansi bar for me and my family. I’m so happy that it passed the test. My husband who dislikes lemon bars actually ate more of it than the rest of us. Hah.
I adapted the recipe from Martha Stewart’s Lemon Squares recipe. The recipe for the filling, from JoytheBaker
Happy Baking! 🙂
I don’t have photos of the crust 🙁
Beat eggs and calamansi rind;
add sugar and beat until thick
Add the flour mixture..
and pour over warm crust
Bake until set.. about 20 minutes
Cool completely and refrigerate for an hour before dusting with powdered sugar and cutting into squares.
Note: do not dust with powdered sugar until it has completely cooled. And don’t forget to refrigerate first, I tried once without chilling it first, it just absorbed the powdered sugar and it sort of melted. Well, just wait a little while and chill it first. It’ll be worth it 🙂
Calamansi Bars (Lemon Bars)
Equipment
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
- Cooking Spray
- ¾ cup All Purpose Flour spooned / leveled
- ⅓ cup Confectioners Sugar plus 1 tablespoon for sifting
- ¼ cup Cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter cold / cut into small pieces
FOR THE FILLING:
- 2 pcs Eggs
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ cup Lemon Juice fresh
- 3 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center.
- Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
- Line pan with two crisscrossed rectangles of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
MAKE THE CRUST:
- In a food processor, pulse flour with confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
- Add butter, pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Press into bottom and ¾ inch up sides of prepared pan.
- Refrigerate 15 minutes.
- Bake until crust is lightly browned 20 minutes.
- Let cool slightly in pan.
- Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees.
MAKE THE FILLING:
- In a bowl, beat eggs with a whisk or with an electric mixer until thick.
- Beat in granulated sugar, lemon juice, flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Pour over warm crust.
- Bake until set, about 20 minutes.
- Cool to room temperature, refrigerate about 1 hour.
- Using the paper overhang as an aid, lift square from pan.
- Sift remaining tablespoon confectioners' sugar over the top.
- Cut into 16 squares.
- Enjoy!
Notes
