Luscious Lemon Bars Recipe With Black Currant Jam (Dessert, Breakfast, Brunch) by Gail Sweeney

Looking for some summer desserts to bring to your next gathering? Look no further than this delicious recipe for luscious lemon bars with black currant jam from my cookbook Let's Bake! Over 100 Dessert Recipes for Gifting & Giving.

To make this sweeet lemon bar recipe you will need to gather the following ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, flour, vanilla extract, salt, black current jam, eggs, granulated sugar and lemons for juicing and zesting.

Serve these sweet jammy lemon bars for dessert, as a sweet snack or even for breakfast or brunch with a cup of coffee or hot tea.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes plus chilling time
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 15

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup black currant jam, for spreading over the baked pastry

Lemon Filling

• 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (divided)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/2 cup butter
• pinch of salt

Recipe Notes

• These bars will keep in airtight containers in the refrigerator for five days or in the freezer for one month.

• Try these bars with other flavors of fruit jam.

Here's how to make it: 

1. To make the shortbread crust, cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl of the stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add in the flour, salt and vanilla and mix until combined. Press the crust evenly into the bottom of a parchment paper-lined 13x9-inch baking pan, being careful to press the crust firmly into the sides and corners. Place the crust in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes before spreading the jam evenly over the crust. To prevent tearing the crust, warm the jam in the microwave and dollop the jam in about 7 places before spreading with an offset spatula. Refrigerate or freeze the jam filled crust until cold.
3. For the lemon filling, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and whisk in 1 cup of sugar, the lemon juice and zest. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and yolks together.
4. Combine the remaining sugar and flour well, then add to the eggs, whisking until the flour and sugar have been incorporated. Add the egg mixture to the saucepan whisking until smooth. Return the saucepan to the heat, stirring the lemon mixture over medium low heat until the curd begins to thicken to a custard-like consistency. Do not bring to a boil. Strain the mixture into a large measuring cup or pitcher. Pour carefully over the cold blackcurrant shortbread crust.
5. Bake the lemon bars for approximately 12 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes at room temperature before refrigerating. Chill the lemon bars in the fridge for at least 2 hours or longer before slicing. Sift icing sugar over the cold bars for decoration.
   
    

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. This recipe has been analyzed by HappyForks. However, any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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