By Yossy Arefi
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- 4(321)
- Notes
- Read community notes
These bars are equal parts puckery lemon curd punctuated with a generous amount of lemon zest, and crisp poppy-seed shortbread – twice baked to avoid a soggy bottom. The bars are finished with a billowy swoop of meringue, made with a bit of cornstarch to help keep it from weeping. Make sure to top the bars with meringue while they are still hot from the oven to help seal the two together.
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Ingredients
Yield:One 9-inch-by-13-inch pan
- 2cups/255 grams all-purpose flour
- 6tablespoons/75 grams granulated sugar
- 2tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2tablespoons cornstarch
- 1teaspoon lemon zest
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt
- 1cup/227 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted and cooled, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1¾cups/352 grams granulated sugar
- 4teaspoons lemon zest
- 2tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- 5large eggs
- 4egg yolks (reserve the whites for the meringue)
- 1cup fresh lemon juice from about 6 lemons
- 4egg whites
- 1teaspoon cornstarch
- ½cup/101 grams granulated sugar
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch kosher salt
For the Crust
For the Lemon Filling
For the Meringue
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
To make the crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish with foil, taking care to cover the corners as well. Lightly butter the foil.
Step
2
Whisk the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, cornstarch, lemon zest and salt together. Add the butter and mix until well combined. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, about 25 minutes.
Step
See AlsoLemon Curd Semifreddo Recipe - Between2KitchensLemon Curd Recipe for filling MacaronsPavlova Recipe (Gluten-Free) - ZoëBakesSouth African Lemon Meringue Tart Recipe3
Just before the crust is finished baking, prepare the filling: Combine sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Rub zest into sugar with your fingertips until well combined and fragrant. Add flour and salt. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks, followed by the lemon juice.
Step
4
When the crust is finished baking, turn the oven down to 300 degrees. Pour the filling over the hot crust and return the pan to the oven. Bake until filling is set, but just slightly wiggly in the center, about 23 to 25 more minutes. While the bars are baking, prepare the meringue.
Step
5
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and cornstarch. Whip on medium-high speed until the mixture is foamy. With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, and whip until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and salt and mix briefly to combine.
Step
6
When filling is set, remove pan from the oven and switch the oven to broil. Carefully spoon and spread the meringue over the hot bars, then set it under the broiler until the meringue is deep golden brown, 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the heat of the broiler. Keep a close eye on the meringue during this process. It can go from perfectly golden to scorched in mere moments. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Ratings
4
out of 5
321
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Cooking Notes
WMFL
BIG HIT!Modifications:- Used cane sugar instead of granulated- Reduced sugar in filling to 1.5 C & meringue to 1/3 C- Baked filling for 22 mins, will reduce to 20 mins next timeTIPS:- Line foil higher than dish- Meringue deflated a bit. Will add 1-2 more egg whites next time (adjust other ingredients accordingly)- Use piping bag with wide tip for meringue- When cooled, SLOWLY remove bars from dish (use excess foil to lift), separate foil from sides of bar with knife, then slice
Nerdy
Also - you can safely reduce the sugar in custard down to 280g, tones down sweetness and allows for a nice tart finish!
Tim
It tastes great, but the meringue burned after one minute on the low broil setting. WATCH IT LIKE A HAWK.
Mariel
Delicious. I love the poppy seeds in the crust. I modified the sugar as suggested by others. I thought it could have used even less, maybe 1 & 1/3 cups. My filling required 30 minutes to set perhaps in part due to the humidity where I am currently living. I broiled the meringue on 450 and did not walk away from it. It probably took 1.5 minutes to brown.
April
Wish I had reduced sugar as suggested by others. Also, I added more zest, as I love tangy lemon, but still not enough. Will double next time. Loved the bars nonetheless! Easier to handle than pie, with the great flavors of lemon meringue.
Dan
This recipe is truly delicious (but VERY rich). Use slightly less sugar, 1.75 cups. Problems: You can't slice these bars in the pan because you can't easily get between the foil and the crusty bottom. I tried lifting them out of the pan, but then the crust cracked! And, the meringue shrank from the foil, even though I had pushed it snug. Next time, will try a non-stick pan, lightly buttered ( floured too perhaps), slice them in the pan. Maybe you can't really put meringue on bars!
Nerdy
Tremendous recipe. Have made it several times. Have found the juice and zest from 5 med lemons is perfect to cover recipe.
Chet Piper
tip: line pan with parchment paper overhanging the edge by 1-2"- after cooled- still in pan - place in the freezer for 30 min, then use the parchment "handles" to lift the entire dessert out in one piece, while still frozen cut with very sharp knife by pressing straight down, not dragging - nice clean cuts!
BH
These were excellent. I baked for the recommended 23 minutes and the custard was a bit overdone, so check early. However, there were no deleterious effects on the texture.
Natalie
Great recipe, followed others advice and cut the sugar. It definitely was needed as the dessert ended up perfectly sweet with the reduced sugar! Will make again.
Madeline
I think I took the other recommendations in the comments too seriously!! I lessened the sugar, used juice of 7 lemons (I love lemon), and omitted the meringue entirely. Granted, I basically made a completely different dish, so I recommend not changing much if you're leaving out the meringue! I think that's where I went wrong. ALSO I wish I cooked the crust for longer, I did the recommended 25 minutes, but it wasn't the right color, but I took it out anyway. Overall easy recipe and will try again
Charlotte H.
Delicious!! Halved all ingredient quantities, baked in an 8 x 8" pan and reduced the cook times by a few minutes each. Very light and fluffy! Only needed one minutes under the broiler. I agree with the other reviews about reducing sugar in the lemon larger (used a scant 3/4 cup in the half recipe and could have used less).
Sam
Made as is the first time around, it turned out heavenly! The second time around, I infused the butter for the crust by mixing 2 earl grey tea packets into room temp butter and letting it sit overnight. Used 300g sugar in the filling and gf flour in place of regular. DEVINE.
Molly
I followed the tip to halve the recipe and use a tart pan, I think the presentation is much nicer. My meringue “sweated” a fair bit, beads of condensation formed on the meringue. Maybe too much moisture in my kitchen?
ilyssa
These were great. Used reader tip of using parchment as a sling instead of foil, then freezing, lifting parchment to get out of pan and then slicing for clean cuts. Worked like a charm. Easy to make although a bit time consuming (lots of zesting and juicing) but worth it for epic result. For some reason my crust took about 10 extra minutes to get golden brown. Oh, I did add two extra egg whites to meringue recipe (increased other ing too) and will next time too.
Tannie B
Fantastic flavor and loved the poppy seeds in the crust. I reduced the sugar as others had, and increased the amount of egg whites in the meringue (used maybe eight). However the meringue did not bind to the curd and was a bit messy.
Eli
Looks wonderful, but could these be made without the meringue? I’m not generally a fan, but would love to perhaps add whipped cream if they need a flourish. Love lemon bars, shortbread, and poppyseeds.
Chet Piper
tip: line pan with parchment paper overhanging the edge by 1-2"- after cooled- still in pan - place in the freezer for 30 min, then use the parchment "handles" to lift the entire dessert out in one piece, while still frozen cut with very sharp knife by pressing straight down, not dragging - nice clean cuts!
Sharanya
Besides my broiler absolutely TORCHING half the meringue it turned out brilliant. I wish I could attach a photo because the gradient was quite artistic. I cut the whole recipe in half and made it in a tart pan which was quite beautiful as well! Kudos to me ;)
nancy van house
Big hit indeed! I made for a group and people enthusiastically took extra bars home. Crust took 10-15 minutes longer than called for in recipe. After baking, I lifted out of pan, slowly & carefully, using excess foil, to cool and then slice. Very rich.
Christy
I got very positive reception on this. I piped italian meringue on top and torched it instead of broiling french meringue, I think it looks nicer and is easier to control. I kinda prefer a shortbread crust but people said they loved the cookie texture.
April
Wish I had reduced sugar as suggested by others. Also, I added more zest, as I love tangy lemon, but still not enough. Will double next time. Loved the bars nonetheless! Easier to handle than pie, with the great flavors of lemon meringue.
Mariel
Delicious. I love the poppy seeds in the crust. I modified the sugar as suggested by others. I thought it could have used even less, maybe 1 & 1/3 cups. My filling required 30 minutes to set perhaps in part due to the humidity where I am currently living. I broiled the meringue on 450 and did not walk away from it. It probably took 1.5 minutes to brown.
Jennifer
These turned out great and were pretty easy to make. The poppy seeds are a perfect addition to shortbread.
Tim
It tastes great, but the meringue burned after one minute on the low broil setting. WATCH IT LIKE A HAWK.
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