Lemon Meringue Bars
The best lemon meringue bars: these have a crumbly poppy studded shortbread crust, a buttery puckery lemon curd filling and a very vanilla marshmallow meringue on top.
Servings 12
Equipment
- stand mixer for whipping the meringue
Ingredients
Poppy Seed Shortbread Crust
- 52g or ¼ cup granulated sugar
- zest of one lemon
- 3-4 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 26g or ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 160g or 1 cup plus ¼ cup all purpose flour
- pinch fine sea salt
- 113g or ½ cup butter, unsalted
Lemon Curd Filling
- 6 large eggs
- 240g or 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 200g or 1 cup granulated sugar
- zest of 6-8 lemons
- 113g or ½ cup butter, unsalted
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp tapioca starch or cornstarch
Vanilla Meringue
- 4 egg whites from large eggs
- 200g or 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar optional, helps stabilize the meringue
- 1 scraped vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
Make the crust
- Line an 8x8 or 9x9 inch square metal pan with parchment paper (if you have sheets, cut one in half, grease your pan and lay one of them down, then grease the bottom of the sheet that’s in the pan and place the other over it so they are overlaying and cover all sides). Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a bowl add all of the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Add the softened butter and using a hand mixer mix together all the crust ingredients until the dough will stick together when pinched. Press it into the bottom of the pan, using the bottom of a floured measuring cup to even out the layer. Bake it for 20-25 minutes until golden on the sides.
Make the filling (this can be done up to a week ahead of time, store in the fridge in an airtight container)
- Zest the lemons into the sugar in a large pot, and rub the sugar between your fingers. Add the lemon juice and mix. In a separate bowl, crack in all the eggs, add the salt and using a fork, beat them until they are nicely mixed and you can’t see any white bits. Pour the eggs into the sugar/lemon mix while whisking.
- Place the butter in a bowl, and set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and set aside.
- Set the pot over medium-low heat and whisk as the curd cooks. Keep mixing as often as you can so it cooks evenly. It will thicken on the bottom first, use a rubber spatula to stir it. Once the curd is fully thickened and coats the back of a spoon, it’s done (if you are using a thermometer it will register 170 F). Pour it into the sieve and stir and press until all the curd is in the bowl. Scrape the bottom of the sieve to get that part too. Discard the zest and any egg bits that are left in the sieve. Stir the curd until the butter is fully melted. Add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch or tapioca starch and whisk into the curd.
- Once the shortbread is done cooking, pour in the curd and return the pan to the oven until the curd is set on the edges and jiggles in the center. If you shake the pan gently, it will mostly look set on the sides and runny in the center but it will all set once cooled. Bake time will depend on the temperature of the curd going in, the pan material and size, can take between 15-25 minutes. Transfer to the fridge and let chill for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.
Make the topping on the day of serving
- Into a glass or heatproof bowl, add the sugar. Set a pot filled ⅓ of the way with water over low heat and bring the water to simmer. Once it’s ready, whisk the egg whites into the bowl and set the bowl over the heat. Keep whisking constantly, when you can pinch the mixture and can’t detect any sugar granules, the meringue is ready to be whipped.
- Pour the meringue into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and add the cream of tartar if using, begin whisking on low, gradually working up to medium high. Whip for 7-10 minutes until you have stiff peaks. While it’s whipping, add the seeds of the bean, the extract and the salt. Stiff peaks is when you can remove the whisk, turn it upside down and the meringue won’t droop (if you are struggling to get to this point, it’s okay if it droops just a little). Spread the meringue over the cooled curd in an even layer.
- Use a kitchen torch to torch the meringue, avoiding the parchment paper. Alternatively, remove the bars from the pan and remove the parchment paper, place the bars on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to a high broil. Set the pan under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, keeping watch. Once the tops start to brown and the peaks are a dark brown, remove it. At this point I like to set it in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes.
- Store in the fridge, the meringue will begin to weep after a day or two so it's best eaten the day of.