Recipe
Sour Cherry Lemon Bars
Lemon bars in my house or as we called them then lemon cake
always happened on those warm spring days, when light breeze of still cold wind
would make you think it’s summer already … I remember my mother baking for me
lemon bars when I was a little girl. Flour bag, sugar box, brown egg ( it seems
now they somehow disappeared ) nestled in the grooves between tiles. A yellow
block of butter blurring at the edges. A shallow glass bowl of lemon peel.
Lemon bars were actually one of my first “cake-baking” challenges. And now when
I think of that, it wasn’t a challenge at all.
Anyway, it’s not spring jet, but the sun these days is
brighter for the first time after so many cold and cloudy days, and I can’t
find better moment to get back into those priceless careless days, and to
travel across memory lane…
I hope my mother will be thrilled and not mad that I change
hers recipe a little just by adding cherry jam in them. But, I can’t help that feeling
I experience every time I have sour cherry jam in my house. And this one was
homemade, prepared from my nanas cherry tree and delivered specially for me. My
Nana always find a way to spoil me, even now after so many years.
On to these Sour Cherry Lemon Bars…Let me just say, it was
the best idea ever! And of course, you can use store-bought sour cherry jam or
cherry jam. I altered my mom’s old fashioned Lemon Bars recipe, by adding Sour
Cherry jam between the crust and lemon crème and orange zest instead lemon
zest…
Sour Cherry Lemon Bars, perfect way to say goodbye to
winter, and to welcome spring…
Ingredients:
for the bottom layer
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour*
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
170gr butter
for the top layer
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs, beaten
zest of one orange
5-6 tbsp. Sour Cherry jam
powdered sugar, for top
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8X8″ baking dish with foil; Set aside.
- Blend butter, flour, brown sugar and salt until it resembles a corse meal.
- Pat firmly into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
- When baked, carefully spread the jam on top.
- To prepare the top layer, whisk the eggs with sugar, and then add flour, juice and zest.
- Pour over the top of the first layer and return to oven and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes. Loosen around edges, and allow to cool. Cut into squares and sift confectioners’ sugar over the top to serve.
- Enjoy…
