Blueberry Lemon Curd Bars
Tart but sweet in the most special way that only comes from combining blueberries and lemon. The curd is smooth and the shortbread crust is crumbly, thick and lemony.
Lemon curd bars turned into Blueberry Curd bars
I’d seen these lemon bars via Melissa Clark awhile ago, and planned to make them with the bags of meyer lemons I had on hand. But then I imagined the blueberry curd on top and… ooof. Wouldn’t that be a recipe worth developing?
So here we are. I used Liren’s method of cooking the berries in lemon juice to extract the blueberry juice, and then adjusted Clark’s recipe . AND GUYS, THESE ARE DIVINE!!!
The bars are both tart from the lemons and sweet from the blueberries. Somehow you get both without one taste overpowering the other. The crust (nice and thiccc) is a wonderful lemony shortbread vehicle. I’m obsessed!
Notes and tips to make Blueberry Lemon Bars
- To ensure your curd sets after baking, make sure to bring the curd to a boil and then let it boil for just 30-45 seconds afterwards.
- I didn’t add zest to keep a smooth texture but if you would like to add some to the curd, go for it! Definitely don’t skip it in the crust though – it’s amazing.
- These are easiest to cut once they have been in the freezer for a bit. They even taste good straight from the freezer because the curd doesn’t freeze.
- If you’d like to, you can use a 50/50 mixture of butter and olive oil in the curd instead of all butter.
Recipe for Blueberry Lemon Bars
Blueberry Lemon Curd Bars
Ingredients
Thick Lemon Shortbread Crust
- 160g or 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 50g or ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 140g or 10 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes
Blueberry Lemon Curd Filling
- 300g or 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 120g or ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 200g or 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 tablespoon tapioca starch or cornstarch
- 85g or 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Method
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Line an 8×8 inch square pan with parchment paper to form a sling on each side.
- In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients for the crust and whisk together.
- Using a pastry knife, cut in the butter until it becomes pea sized. Use your hands to smooth the rest of the butter into the dough until crumbly and all flour is coated (alternatively, pulse all ingredients in a food processor).
- Press crust dough into the bottom of the pan and bake it for 30 minutes, until crust is golden.
While crust is baking, make the filling:
- In a pot, cook blueberries and lemon juice on medium until berries soften. Use the back of a wooden spoon to press the blueberries to release their juices.
- Press the blueberry mix through a fine mesh sieve, scraping the bottom of the sieve to get all the juice. You’ll need ¾ cup of juice to make the curd (no more).
- Return the blueberry juice to the pot, with the heat off. Once it is cool enough, add the salt, sugar, eggs, yolks, and starch. Whisk to combine.
- Turn the heat on and add the butter, whisking frequently as butter melts.
- The curd will thicken after about 5 minutes or more, stir it often as it thickens. Let it come to a boil and then sit for about 30 seconds. It should reach 165 F.
- Over a bowl place a fine mesh sieve. Pour the curd through the sieve, pressing down to get as much out as possible.
- When the crust is golden, remove from oven and pour in the curd. Return to the oven.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until the curd is set in the edges and only wobbles in the center.
- Let the bars cool at room temperature and then place in the fridge.
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I just made these and unfortunately I ran into some issues. While I am an experienced savory cook and have made regular lemon bars before, I am still not a big baker. The curd didn’t set quite right and I can think of two possible reasons why: the amount of blueberries specified in the recipe were way more than I needed for the amount of juice so perhaps the lemon to blueberry ratio was off, or I didn’t cook the curd at a high enough temperature on the stove. While it may be obvious to some, as a novice baker I wasn’t sure so cooked it at medium. I may try these again keeping this all in mind.
Hi Sarah, sorry this didn’t work out for you. I think you’re on the right track with the guesses: in the recipe I list not to use any more than 3/4 cup of blueberry puree for the bars, did you stick to that measurement or just use what you had? re: the heat, it matters more that the curd thickens; if you have a thermometer you can be precise about this but if not look for it to coat the back of a spoon. Because these bars are baked afterwards, I’d also consider that reaching that initial on the stove temperature might not be as necessary since the curd will continue to thicken in the oven. When you took it out did it have sets sides and just a wobble in the middle? This can vary by type of pan and how hot the curd is going into the oven; if it baked for 20 minutes and still didn’t set then I’d say the problem was definitely with there being too much blueberry puree.
I am planning on making these but every other recipe I make says large eggs and I’d hate to buy a dozen regular and not use the remainder. With large eggs work or should I adjust the quantity for the recipe?
Hi! You can (and should!) use large eggs as that is what I use.
I’ve made these a few times for parties and gatherings and they make the perfect light tea snack, I never have to take any back home with me! I’ve also made this recipe gluten free two different ways to appease different crowds and really didn’t notice a difference! Once with KA 1:1 GF flour, and once with an almond shortbread crust that works great as well.
I need to make this recipe for 30 people, could you send me an exact recipe?
These are amazing!! I am in love ❤️ everyone loves when I make these! I use cup4cup gluten free flour also 🙂
That’s great to know about the gf flour!
I just found your delicious lemon curd recipe and was strolling for another recipe which I can use the curd with and saw this one but the measurements are imperial and I always struggle converting imperial to metric and I don’t want to mess up the recipes. Is there any chance, you could put the metric measurements to your recipes? Thank you very much! ????
Just added grams measurements for you =) This recipe makes an entirely different curd though!
Just made my fourth batch of these, and they are terrific! It gets easier, and turns out better every time I make it! But an excellent dessert, thank you for the recipe!
I froze these 9 days ago and wrapped them well. Just ate one and it was still amazing! Freeze away!! Yaaay!
I am making these now! What do you think about reducing any excess juice quantity until it drops to 3/4 cup?
Can these be frozen
Just made these, everything looks nicely set and is ready to chill. I do believe these will be tasty! Needed about 10-15 minutes more on the final bake but came out great. Nice recipe!
What does it look like when the curd is “set”? Is it still a big jiggly in the middle?
Just a bit jiggly in the center.
Hi! Love these bars! I was just wondering if you’ve ever tried freezing these for a couple of days and how they last. Thanks!!
Hi Tiffany! I have not tried freezing them tbh, but imagine if you do the best thing would be to wrap them tight and keep in an airtight container.
Why do you mention st the top to freeze them but then say you never tried it. Also, who uses a ½ Tablespoon as a measurement? It’s 1 ½ teaspoons.
I mention to freeze them an hour or two before slicing. I have not froze them for days, which is what I was asked.
Do you think there would be any issues substituting raspberries instead of blueberries?
I don’t! That sounds delicious
Just made this—for some reason my curd only boiled in the oven rather than set. Is there any remedying this? I followed everything by the book—except I was unsure if I was supposed to ONLY use 3/4 cup of the juice from step 7. The “at least” confused me. Any advice helps! 🙂
Before I make this, I would like to clarify. Is it 2 whole eggs plus 3 yolks?
Hi Ashlee! Agh, so sorry it didn’t work out. Yes, only 3/4 cup should be used for the curd (I’ll edit to clarify that further). If that’s how much you used then the issue was probably in the boiling step – it’s a little tricky but it should thicken quite a bit before you remove from the heat. Check my notes up top!
I also misunderstood the directions, I thought I needed more than 3/4 cup of blueberry juice and my curd also didn’t set at all. I got it to boil in the pan before and when it was baking but too much liquid. Was thinking of returning it all to the saucepan and adding another egg and more starch, but I may just make it into a runny shortbread dessert haha!
Aaghh, so sorry Elizabeth! I’ve tried clarifying the amount needed. You definitely could return it to the saucepan and add some tapioca starch (for corn you’d need to mix it with something cold first and that would just mean more liquid) to thicken it. Alternatively, keep it as a liquid and use it as you would lemon curd – on top of toast or pancakes or french toast.
Hello!
Eggs and yolks from medium ones?
Thank you!
Large!
I am allergic to citrus but love blueberries!! Is there anything I could sub the lemon juice for?
Hmm, I would say another fresh juice that is quite tart. Cranberry? Tart cherry? Rhubarb? Something like that!
we made these yesterday — what a lovely treat! the color is really stunning, and you’re exactly right – the combo of sweet & tart is perfect. thank you for sharing this!
ahh so happy to hear it Lauren! Thanks for making them!
I lovvvvve how these look. I have a bag of frozen blueberries. Can I use these??
Yes!