lemon

Meyer Lemon Custard Bars with Poppyseed Crust

Posted on by Ruth

The idea for these meyer lemon custard bars have been bouncing around in my head for a year, or since the last time meyer lemons were in season and readily available in the supermarket. I’m game for good lemon desserts anytime; but they’re especially welcome in January as a foil for the warm spices and heavy flavors many of us enjoy in the months prior. The cheerful color helps too.

These particular bars straddle the line between classic American style lemon bars and a British style lemon tart, with the ease and portability of the former and the mellow creaminess of the latter. Tastewise, this is not a face-puckering lemon bar. If you think of the difference between sorbet and ice cream, these bars are like ice cream. Cream mutes the lemon flavor but also helps it linger on the palate. Still, I’ve tried to bump up the lemon flavor as much as possible by infusing the cream with lemon zest and adding some to the crust as well.

I used meyer lemons as they’re a January treat around here, less acidic than regular lemons with a gentle floral note. (They’re thought to be a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange.) But if you can’t find meyer lemons in your area, regular lemons will work here too.

meyer lemon custard bars

Baker’s notes:

  • For a silky smooth, glassy custard, remove all the air bubbles before placing it in the oven. After straining the custard, I like to bounce a spoon across the surface. This helps any bubbles lurking within the custard rise up to the surface and eventually pop. Keep bouncing until you don’t see any bubbles coming up anymore. You can also wave kitchen torch across the top to pop any stubborn bubbles.
  • Don’t overbake the custard! Overbaking can lead to cracks and an unpleasant finished texture. Turn off the oven when there’s still a good wobble in the center and let the bars cool down slowly with the oven door cracked open. It will continue to set as it cools.
  • Taste your poppyseeds and make sure they are fresh! Nothing ruins a bake like rancid seeds and poppyseeds spoil especially quickly. I store mine in the freezer.

Related recipes:

meyer lemon custard bars

Meyer Lemon Custard Bars

Yield: 16 2-inch bars
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes

A silky lemon custard on a poppy seed shortbread base, these simple yet elegant meyer lemon custard bars are a cross between American-style lemon bars and a British lemon tart.

Ingredients

For the infused meyer lemon cream:

  • Zest of one meyer lemon
  • 150g heavy cream (35%)

For the poppyseed crust:

  • Zest of one meyer lemon (reserve juice for custard)
  • 50g granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp (10g) poppyseeds
  • 142g all-purpose flour (I used half emmer, half all-purpose)*
  • 113g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 large egg white, lightly beaten, for egg wash (reserve yolk for filling)

For the meyer lemon custard filling:

  • Zest of 1 meyer lemon
  • 175g granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 5 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
  • 150g meyer lemon juice, freshly squeezed (from about 3 medium meyer lemons -- zest them before juicing!)
  • All of the infused cream

Instructions

  1. Prep the oven and pan: Preheat the oven to 350F with a rack in the middle. Line an 8x8 square baking pan with two criss-crossed pieces of parchment, leaving 2-3 inches of overhang on at least two of the sides for easy removal.
  2. Infuse the cream: Place the zest of one meyer lemon in a small saucepan and add the heavy cream. Stir to combine. Warm the cream over medium-low heat until steaming, then remove from the heat and cover the pot. Allow the cream to infuse while you prepare the crust.
  3. Make the poppyseed crust: In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and the zest of one meyer lemon. Rub the zest into the sugar until fragrant and damp to release the essential oils from the rind, which will intensify the lemon flavor. Whisk in the salt, poppyseeds, and flour until well combined.
  4. Pour in the melted butter and stir with a fork until no spots of dry flour remain. Scatter dough across the base of the prepared pan and use your fingers or a flat bottomed cup to press into an even layer.
  5. Bake the crust: Bake the crust until dry and golden, 20-25 minutes. Brush a layer of egg white over the crust to help water-proof it, then cool on a wire rack while you prepare the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 300F.
  6. Make the custard: Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl or large measuring jug with a spout (such as a 4-cup Pyrex).
  7. In a medium saucepan, combine the zest of one meyer lemon and granulated sugar. As you did with the crust, rub the zest into the sugar until fragrant and damp to release the essential oils from the rind. Whisk in the salt, followed by the eggs and egg yolk. Whisk in the lemon juice and the infused cream (no need to strain out the zest right now).
  8. Cook the custard mixture over medium-low heat, stirring and scraping the pan frequently with a heat-resistent spatula, until it registers 160F on a digital thermometer. Strain the custard into the prepared measuring jug. Discard the zest.
  9. Bounce the back of a spoon across the top of the custard to pop any air bubbles. Pour the custard into the pan. If any bubbles remain on the surface of the custard, skim them off with a spoon.
  10. Bake the bars: Bake until the edges of the custard are set but the center still wobbles, about 20-30 minutes. Turn off the oven and prop the oven door with a wooden spoon. Let the bars cool for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely to room temperature. Chill the bars in the refrigerator for another 1-2 hours for easiest slicing.
  11. Slice and serve: Use a sharp knife to slice bars into desired size (I usually do a 4x4 grid for a total of 16 bars), wiping the blade clean between cuts. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Bars are best enjoyed the day they're baked, but can be stored refrigerated up to 3 days. The crust will soften over time.

Notes

*I used half emmer flour, half all purpose for a little extra flavor and nutrition. This crust is very forgiving; you can try substituting another whole grain flour such as spelt or whole wheat, or just use all-purpose.

© Ruth
Category: Bars and Brownies

Meyer Lemon and Raspberry Scones

Posted on by Ruth

lemon raspberry scones

Scones are one of those coffeeshop items that I love to order but often find disappointing. Either they’re too cakey or over-the-top heavy. My ideal scone is crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, slightly sweet but able to withhold a generous amount of jam/curd/clotted cream. After yet another recent disappointing scone purchase, I decided it was time to scour the interwebs and find a go-to scone recipe for myself.

It’s not too often I succeed on the very first try, but, boy, were these good scones. I based them off the very well-reviewed Royal Wedding Scones on Food52. Lemon and raspberry is a favorite combination in this household, but you could easily change up the fruit and spices based on season and preference.

Scones are definitely best the day you make them (preferably while still a little warm from the oven), but you can freeze these unbaked and bake straight from frozen (you may need to add a few minutes of baking time). I’ve also had success freezing baked scones and reheating them in a 350F oven for 12-15 minutes or so.

Meyer Lemon and Raspberry Scones

Adapted from Food 52 | Makes 8

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups / 313g AP flour (I’ve successfully replaced about 1/3 of this with spelt flour)
  • 1/4 cup / 50g granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons / 86g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • 3/4 cup frozen raspberries
  • Zest of 1 meyer lemon
  • 1/2 cup cold heavy cream, plus more for brushing on tops of scones
  • 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • Coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Method:

  1. Line a 6-inch round cake pan with plastic wrap. Set aside.
  2. Put sugar and lemon zest in the bottom of a large bowl. Rub the zest into the sugar to release the oils.
  3. Add the remaining dry ingredients to the sugar-zest mixture and whisk to combine.
  4. Add the cold butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in using a pastry cutter or your fingers. You should have varying sizes of butter pieces, ranging from pea to nickel shaped.
  5. Gently fold in the frozen raspberries.
  6. Combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, gently folding in with a fork. Do not overmix.
  7. When a shaggy dough begins to form, dump the contents onto a lightly floured surface. Gently fold the dough onto itself just enough so it becomes a cohesive mass. Transfer to the prepared cake pan, cover, and freeze for about 30 minutes or until slightly hardened.
  8. While scones are chilling, preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. When scones are chilled, invert round onto a lightly floured surface and cut like a pie into eight wedges. Transfer to prepared sheet pan. Lightly brush the tops with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Scones are done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.