Troubleshooting Lemon Bars

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Hi all! I'm trying to perfect my lemon bar recipe, which is from my grandmother's Purity cookbook with all sorts of notations and changes she made. It's perfect in terms of flavour and the pâté sucree base works exactly as it should, but the topping is coming out too fluid.

 

The topping is 3C sugar, 1/4C lemon juice, the zest off of those lemons, 1tsp baking powder, 6 eggs and 2C coconut.

 

What can I do to firm it up a bit, so that it stays put once I cut the bars? Would cornstarch or tapioca flour do it?

 

[pastrygirl]

I would think the coconut would soak up most of the liquid from the eggs. What if you let the topping mix sit and absorb for a while  (30 min?) before baking?

 

If you leave out the baking powder, maybe they'll be denser and hold together better. Or just bake them longer so the eggs are fully set. 

 

My guesses for this morning... Good luck!

[JAZ]

Do you mix the topping ingredients and then pour them on the base uncooked? When I make lemon bars, I cook the shortbread base separately, then make a curd separately (lemon juice and zest, sugar, egg yolks and a little butter), then pour the curd on the base and cook it for another ten minutes or so. After chilling, the curd sets up completely solid and sliceable. Perhaps if you cooked the lemon, sugar and eggs in a saucepan until thick, then stirred in the coconut, the topping would hold together better.

[Alex]

Coconut? Hmm. I'd be OK with sprinkling some toasted coconut over the top after baking, but it just doesn't work for me as part of the filling. I'm also wondering if that's part of the issue here.

 

That said, the CI recipe from 1998 always works perfectly for me. The filling (uncooked) for a 9" x 13" baking dish is 4 large eggs, beaten slightly; 1 1/3 c granulated sugar; 3 T all-purpose flour; 2 t finely grated lemon zest; 2/3 c fresh lemon juice, strained; 1/3 c whole milk; and 1/8 t salt. They emphasize pouring the filling into a warm crust. Bake at 325F for about 20 minutes, then cool for at least 30 minutes.

[JohnT]

@Panaderia Canadiense Can you tell us what type of base you are doing (rough or smooth and docked) and the size tray you are using. What temperature are you baking at (for the topping) and for how long? And, how thick is your raw topping? Looking at you photograph, it appears the topping is slightly under-baked as the coconut would normally just be just browning - too long in the oven will result in the tips of the desiccated coconut to burn.

 

Somewhere in one of my old books (1950's or 60's) is a recipe for a lemon bar or tart that sounds similar to what you are trying to do. If my memory serves me correctly, I tried it once and it was a dismal failure. I will see if I can find it tomorrow and see if I noted anything down next to it.

[RWood]

I fought with lemon bars for a long time before I gave up on recipes and just made up my own.  I use a shortbread crust recipe I've had for years and I use my lemon curd recipe. I par bake the crust, make the lemon curd, strain it into the crust and then bake it for about 10 mins in a 300F convection oven.  Then chill them.  They cut very cleanly and hold their shape very well. So, maybe a pre cooked filling might help them hold their shape better?

[JeanneCake]

I'd go with a lemon curd and add toasted/untoasted coconut to it, bake it for 5 minutes to set it and let it firm up overnight.  You might also need another egg or two if you want to keep using your original recipe.  I've been struggling for years with recipes written from long ago - when eggs were larger -  and find that if I add another egg or two, or one or more yolks if it calls for yolks; I have better results.  At least, the results are more in line with what I used to get when I first baked whatever the recipe is.

[pastrygirl]

1 hour ago, RWood said:

I fought with lemon bars for a long time before I gave up on recipes and just made up my own.  I use a shortbread crust recipe I've had for years and I use my lemon curd recipe. I par bake the crust, make the lemon curd, strain it into the crust and then bake it for about 10 mins in a 300F convection oven.  Then chill them.  They cut very cleanly and hold their shape very well. So, maybe a pre cooked filling might help them hold their shape better?

 

I don't make a standard lemon bar either.  I top mine with lemon curd cooked stove-top and set with the help of white chocolate and gelatin.

[RWood]

26 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

 

I don't make a standard lemon bar either.  I top mine with lemon curd cooked stove-top and set with the help of white chocolate and gelatin.

Yeah, I do the gelatin and sometimes white chocolate thing in lemon curd for cake fillings. Makes sure that stuff isn't going anywhere

[pastrygirl]

On 7/6/2016 at 2:43 PM, RWood said:

I fought with lemon bars for a long time before I gave up on recipes and just made up my own.  I use a shortbread crust recipe I've had for years and I use my lemon curd recipe ...  they cut very cleanly and hold their shape very well.

 

@RWood, I'm looking for a shortbread crust that cuts cleanly.  It's something I've avoided until now, but recent attempts to fulfill requests for caramel-topped shortbread bars yielded frustration.  Delicious and buttery but too crumbly!  I figure a lemon bar base should be similar.  If you'd be willing to share your recipe or any tips, I'd appreciate it!

 

The recipe I tried was CI's millionaire's shortbread with melted butter.  Easy to make, not as easy to cut nicely.

 

thanks!