Latest Obsession: Lemon Bars

Sometimes I feel like Olaf, the adorable snowman in Frozen. Because like Olaf, I've always loved the idea of summer, and sun, and all things hot...Only thing we don't agree on, Yellow! Yes, crimson and chartreuse are all nice, but nothing says summer like yellow. And yellow and snow goes well together, whatever you say Olaf!

Along with the sun, I love the riot of colors everywhere during summer. It always seems to me that I have accidentally landed in one end of the rainbow. But more than anything else, I love the sight of a lemon tree laden with bright yellow fruit. We have one such tree in our backyard. The past two years at home, thanks to that tree a whole host of deliciously tart lemon flavored goodies ended up on our table. Last year, our parents on their way back home visited an aunt who lives in Hunsur. Geetha Aunty sent some lemons home for me to use. Those were beautiful, smooth skinned bright yellow lemons, nothing like the knobbly, sometimes shapeless ones in our backyard. Deciding what to do with them took another two days, finally inspiration struck in the form of mini lemon bars. I found a recipe online, baked them immediately and it was true love! The bright yellow, tangy, lemon bar and my taste buds haven't lost contact since that first taste.

Notice my very beautiful cake stand with my beautiful-ler lemon bar ;)

some of my earlier efforts

But trouble never stays too far. As usual, I had an untimely craving for lemon bars and just had to bake some right then. Problem, dearth of pretty lemons from Geetha Aunty! Well the good old Meen-Puli had to come to my rescue! Remember the knobbly, misshapen lemons from the backyard that I mentioned earlier, they're called meen-puli (puli is citrus, meen is fish, it's named so because it's used mainly when cooking fish...also this is not the Gambooge of Kerala). I substituted these fatter, uglier cousins of the beautiful, bright yellow, smooth skinned lemons in my recipe, made some changes and let the oven do it's job. End result: Unforgettable! It seems the uglier cousin did have some redeeming qualities, after all! You see those ugly, knobbly things are a lot more juicier than those perfect lemons, and all that juice served to tart up the lemon layer and make it Lemon Heaven. And for all of us who love lemons, you can't aspire for anything more. From then, the meen-puli has been crowned the official 'Tart' agent in my kitchen. Moral of the story: Don't judge a  book by it's cover or rather lemon for it's unblemished skin!

With that spectacular result, you would think I would've stopped experimenting. Hah! more fool you, if you entertained such thoughts. It's me, I never pass up a reason to bake or eat! After 6 tries I think I have perfected the Lemon Bar. I have taken a simple American baked product and elevated it to something that is swoon-worthy. I took Ina Garten's recipe from Smitten Kitchen, added a bit of magic beans here, a pinch of pixie dust there and waved a wand! Voila! We have the "All Tarted-up Lemon bar''. Name sounds a little OTT doesn't it, but then again, this tongue tingling lemon bar is over the top with it's bold and bright color, surprisingly fresh and sharp taste and just the right marriage of sweet and tart flavors.

It looks more like a lemon tart doesn't it, but it tastes so much better...believe me

So yellow, so beautiful

Finally the recipe, now if you can't find any meen-puli, don't pull a face and slap our fore-head. Use the prettier lemons (i.e; the normal ones).

All Tarted-up Lemon bar (Lemon n Lime Bars)

Now that's a slice of Lemon Heaven!

Ingredients
For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

For the lemon layer:
6 large eggs at room temperature
2 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoons grated lemon zest (2 to 3 lemons)
1 tablespoon grated lime zest(2 to 3 limes)
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 cup flour

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, then line it with two layers of aluminum foil making sure you leave an overhang on all sides, this just makes your life easier..

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into the greased baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the lemon layer, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon  and lime zest, lemon and lime juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or about five minutes beyond the point where the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into rectangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Notes* I find you need a bigger pan to bake this in, and if you don't like pieces of zest peeking in your cake, just blitz it with the sugar in a mixer, you solve two problems at once with powdered sugar and zest without losing the flavor. You might need to cover the top with foil, halfway through the baking time to prevent the top from getting scorched.

Sometimes obsession is a good thing, huh! Well, Until next time then...

Happy Baking!