July 18, 2020
Lemon Bars!
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Easy five ingredient lemon bars – soft delicious buttery shortbread, smooth sharp lemon curd topping!
Lemon bars
I will say from the very first sentence now, that I am completely and utterly obsessed with these. They are the dreamiest of dreamy and I love them. If you like lemon, you will be obsessed!
Lemon Bars are something that I have had so many requests for over the years, but I just generally never got round to posting them.. finally, when I had a craving myself, I thought I would actually write up the recipe!
I know it sounds like it’s easy, but once you add on the photography, writing, editing etc… it does take a while to write up a recipe post! Also, I have to make sure not to eat all of the lemon bars before I’ve got the camera out. They’re too yummy.
So lemon bars have been around for a very long time – there are lots of yummy recipes out there such as from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and Once Upon a Chef – and they are definitely amazing inspiration for these.
Shortbread base
The base, is the same as for my millionaires shortbread – a simple shortbread of unsalted butter, sugar, and flour. I like to use block butter for the best result, caster sugar for the best sweetness, and plain flour.. obviously.
I use an easy ratio of 2:1:3 when I make my shortbread these days, and I find it works wonders. 200g butter, 100g sugar, 300g flour! Mix them together as per the recipe, and you have a lovely crumbly shortbread. Press them into your 9×9″ square tin – and bake! So simple.
Lemon topping
The topping for this, you can make whilst it’s baking. It doesn’t take long, and you are making a sort of lemon curd, lemon meringue pie style lemon filling – that you will bake straight on top of the shortbread. It can end up making the shortbread look under baked, but it’s not – it’s just soaked up the delicious lemon goodness.
I like to use the lemon zest and lemon juice from the lemons for the most flavour – but you can leave the lemon zest out if you want. Bottled lemon juice works fine too! There is definitely nothing wrong with buying bottled lemon juice in my books.
Make sure to zest your lemons first, and then juice them – the amount of lemons may vary because of the sizing – but it’s about 5 lemons you use. I grate my lemon zest on the fine one so the pieces aren’t too large!
I add in my sugar and plain flour to a bowl and whisk until combined. Then, I add in the lemon juice, zest and eggs mix until smooth. It really doesn’t take long at all which is why it’s so good!
Top and bake!
Once the shortbread has baked, take it out, pour the lemon mixture straight on – and put back into the oven. It really is that simple! I like to call this five ingredients as you have the sugar, butter, flour, eggs and lemon. You could argue the zest and juice is two, but as it’s from one lemon…
Tips!
For an optional end, you can dust the top with icing sugar – but it’s not essential. I just think it looks pretty!! I hope you love these delicious lemon bars as much as I do! Feel free to try this with other citrus fruits too – like lemon and orange! x
Lemon Bars!
Ingredients
Shortbread Base
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 100 g caster sugar
- 300 g plain flour
Lemon Curd Topping
- 375 g caster sugar
- 50 g plain flour
- 6 medium eggs
- 225 ml lemon juice
- Zest of 5 lemons (optional)
Extra
- 1-2 tbsp icing sugar (optional)
Instructions
Shortbread Base
- Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan, and line a 9x9inch deep square tin with parchment paper.
- Cream together the sugar and butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth – mix in the flour until a dough is formed. It will be crumbly but the ingredients will be evenly dispersed!
- Firmly press the mixture into the bottom of tin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until pale golden on top! Towards the end of baking, make the lemon mixture!
Lemon Curd Topping
- Sift your flour into a large bowl, and add the sugar.
- Whisk the two together until combined!
- Add in your eggs, lemon juice and zest, and whisk until combined.
- Once the shortbread is baked, remove from the oven and pour the lemon mixture over the top.
- Return to the oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the lemon mixture no longer wobbles!
- Leave to cool at room tempearture for about 2 hours, and then put in the fridge for another 2 hours (or over night) to firm up.
- If you want to, dust the top with icing sugar, and then cut up and enjoy!
Notes
- These will last for up to one week, in the fridge!
- I use this 9x9" square tin!
- You can use lime, orange, or grapefruit in place - follow the same ideas just switch out the lemon!
- These can be frozen for up to 3 months!
ENJOY!
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J x
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Hello,
Can you use baking spread instead of butter to make the shortbread base, like you can in your shortbread hearts?
Thank you 🙂
Hiya! No, Jane recommends always using butter for shortbread! Hope this helps! x
Hi I’ve tried to make these, they’ve ended up very sticky and a bit sloppy. I used 4 lemons juice which wasn’t quite enough juice. Are they meant to be firm? If so would i need more lemon juice or could i have done something wrong?
Hiya! This just sounds like they needed baking for slightly longer. Hope this helps! x
can you make a raspberry bars or cherry bars recipe ? would you just need to use the different fruit when making the curd? thanks x
Can these be kept out of the fridge once set? I’d like to make them for a wedding reception but need to know they’ll be okay. They’ll be cut into 1 inch bites!
How would you recommend slicing them to get a clean slice?
Hiya! They would have to be kept in somewhere cool, such as a cupboard – and try freezing before slicing? Hope this helps! x
Can these be left out at room temperature or do they have to kept in the fridge ?
Hiya! These will last for about a week in the fridge! Hope this helps! x
I would like to try this but I was wondering if you use the whole eggs or just the yolks?
Everytime I’ve done lemon tart I only use the yolks.
Thanks
Hiya! No, this recipe uses 6 whole eggs! Hope this helps, enjoy! x
They smell amazing and currently have them in the oven but when I added the lemon mixture it fell right through the shortbread base. The base had 25 minutes and was golden so not sure what I did wrong?
Hiya! The mixture does soak in somewhat to the base which is normal! Hope this helps! x
Gosh the lemon flavour in these is immense!
I baked my shortbread layer for about 30 min and it didn’t seem to go golden. Should the shortbread taste like actual shortbread or will it be a bit softer due to the lemon mix? I’m not sure if I undercooked it or if it was meant to be a bit soft.
Hiya! This is correct – it will be slightly softer because of the lemon mix! Also, your oven may be slightly too cool which would be why the shortbread didn’t turn golden. Hope this helps! x
hi im keen to give these a try as i have lots of lemons needing used up, but sometimes i dont have lots of real lemons can you use the lemon juice you get in the bakeing isle of the supermarket instead if you dont have fresh lemons? Thank you
Hiya! I believe this should work – but I personally always use fresh lemons! Hope this helps x
Oh. My. Days.
I’m a huge Jane’s Patisserie supporter, little makes me happier than delving through your recipe index and rustling up a traybake, however I’ve never attempted a recipe like this before!
I was anxious as hell to be straying away from my beloved brownie and blonde recipes, but as I wanted to bake my mum something for her birthday – and she’s a massive lover of all things lemon – I put on my big girls’ pants and had a go.
Well blow me. These are incredible!! The recipe was simple to follow as it always is, no weird and wonderful ingredients and my goodness, what a result.
Okay so I did have to try just ONE, I couldn’t serve them to my mum without taste testing first haha.
Thanks Jane, you’re a star!
These are really delicious and easy to make. I did push the lemon mixture through a sieve to get rid of a few flour lumps that wouldn’t incorporate in the stand mixer. Worked well.
Just finished these and taken out the oven to cool…the smell amazing but it seems as though the mixture has separated on the top. There is a whitey yellow almost foamy layer and then underneath the ‘lemon curd’ has formed. It’s like the egg white and flour has floated to the top…I followed instructions…any suggestions for improving my bake?
Hi
Can I substitute plain flour for gluten free plain flour?
Thanks
This also happened to me!!!
I have made this a couple of times and I personally leave it in the oven a little longer to go golden-brown on top. I’m almost certain the topping is deliberate as it makes a thin cakey layer on top. Deliciously fantastic bake, thank you Jane!
Saw these on Instagram so decided to give them a go. I never bake but these were so easy and delicious!
Another amazing recipe Jane, I absolutely love anything lemon. I think mine turned out how they were meant to., they looked like yours. The lemon topping did have a bit of a ‘skin’ though. Is this normal?
Awh thank you!! Yasss I love a lemon bake. What do you mean by skin?X
Hi,
Yes mind had a thick skin on too, then lemon deliciousness under that. They tasted great, just a strange texture xx
What size lemons do you use please?
Average supermarket size x
Second time commenting and second time making this recipe. This time I made it I took my own advice and didn’t whisk the egg mixture but mixed it till just combined. It STILL gave the bready eggy top – possibly even worse this time! Unfortunately it seems this time the egg did not incorporate properly so the top bready layer was bright yellow (from the yolk) and after peeling it away, the mush underneath was not as silky as last time and was a pale sad colour. I love the taste of these I just wish half the mixture didn’t get wasted and I’m not sure what to do??
Hi, unfortunately the method in the recipe is the correct one to follow – so something may have gone wrong the first time and it is most likely the oven temperature causing this xx
Hey Jane just wondering if u have a recipe for like jam bars. Like U know the ones where it has a base of shortbread then the middle is stuffed with jam and has another layer of shortbread on top. I’ve been looking for a jam bar recipe for a while but they all have a crumbled top which I don’t really like. If not would there be a way to adapt this recipe to fit the jam bars thanks a lot!
Just made these and I read the comments before making so I tried not to over whisk my eggs and cooked on a lower heat for longer but mine still went like a cake on top 😔
Will have to try it again and see if I can get it right lol
Hi Jane,
Could I make these without the shortbread base and just have the lemon square?
Thanks x
Not really as its quite integral to the bake x
No idea where I’m going wrong with this recipe. I’ve made tons of.tour recipes, all straight forward with great easy steps to follow. I follow this to a T and both times the top is cakey. So I strip the top off and underneath its still 😋but still, not how it should look. I’ve turned the oven down too and baked for longer. I also don’t mix the egg mixture too much so god knows where I’m going wrong with this one. 😪 when you’re a perfectionist it’s hard to let it defeat you lol. Appreciate all your recipes Jane and looking forward to your book xx
Hey, what type of oven do you use? Ahh thank you so much, me too!xx
Update! Looks like I was being a little hasty in how the 2nd bake was coming along lol! I turned the oven down and then once it had cooled it has a slight ‘skin’ to it, but it’s really nice and helps keep the lemon in tact and the Icing Sugar dusting finishes it lovely. Xx
I have made these before and they are amazing! However I want to make them in a 9 inch round tin… So it’s more like a tart that I can serve up at BBQs and birthdays etc. Have you any idea how I woild convert the measurements?
Hey! The recipe is about a 1/5th smaller as a guesstimate xx
Hi Jane,
I was wondering if I could make these with a passionfruit jam/curd?
Hey! The lemon part of the recipe is creating a set curd itself so adding a different curd would change this xx
Really nice lemon bars! Although I made the mistake of whisking the egg mixture too much till frothy and they came out a little cakey on the top.. I need to remember next time not to!
So delicious and SO easy! Will 100% make these again!
These lemon bars have an absolutely gorgeous flavour (even using just bottled lemon juice and no zest), properly citrusy and tart and sweet in the best possible way.
Advice to anyone about to make this – Jane has mentioned this in some comment responses but I think it’s a really important part of the recipe – don’t whisk the egg/lemon mixture till it’s frothy!! Mix it very lightly and avoid air bubbles at all cost! Myself (and it seems a few of the other reviewers) made this mistake and it leaves you with a brown spongy-eggy top after baking. To get the beautiful smooth lemon curd topping, your egg/lemon mixture needs to be bubble free. The problem with the bubbly mixture too is that when it goes brown you think it is ready but underneath the mixture is still a bit wet (and then sets sticky!). Might be worth amending the recipe? I learnt this the hard way, taste was delicious but had to scrape off all the top to reveal the sumptuous mixture underneath!
Hi Jane,
I’m baking these to pop in the post for Mother’s Day. If frozen, do they need to be defrosted at room temperature or in the fridge and for how long please?
Thanks!
I personally would do it in the fridge! But I’m unsure on timings… at least 5 hours maybe I have no idea!
I’ve not yet used your recipe but would really love to try it.
Can you tell me if its OK stored out of the fridge or if it has to be kept refrigerated?
Hiya, I personally keep them in the fridge yes x
Hi Jane – have you ever added Limoncello into the bars, would I have to take out some of the lemon juice to substitute it?
Thanks
Hello! I haven’t I’m afraid, its worth a go but it may effect the set!x
Now that sound nice. Did you try it? Would love to know how it turned out. : )
Leah
Made these little beauties today!!! Oh my days they are amazing. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes 💛 thank you for sharing with us all x
Would an orange version of this work, or lime? 🤷🏻♀️
Theoretically, yes! X
When i poured the liquid mixture onto the pastry, the lemon mixture sunk underneath the pastry. Help where have I gone wrong?
The shortbread may have shrinked back from the sides of the tin perhaps? Was the tin you used lined?
This also happened to me I was so disappointed and I did line the tin so not sure what went wrong x
Hi jane
Could I use lemon curd in the mixture instead of lemon zest? I know it sounds daff as the recipe is making lemon curd. Have a large tub left over and want to use it up. Can I just mix some in for flavour?
Thanks
No that wouldn’t work unfortunately and it could cause a problem with the bake! x
Hi Jane love all your recipes!! Just one question on this recipe… My dad recently has had to go dairy free so I’m looking at recipes I can tweak so he doesn’t miss out! Could I use dairy free butter (it’s more of a Stork texture) for the shortbread base instead of Unsalted butter do you think?
You can do, it just may make the mixture a little sticky when putting it into the tin!! x
Thanks Jane, giving it a go now!! Fingers crossed! Xx
I loved the smell of the kitchen whilst these were baking and the taste definitely didn’t disappoint either. Mine did slightly brown on top with the oven being too high but still didn’t take away from the taste
I just made these with passion fruit pulp instead and it was delicious! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe 🙂
When can I remove them from the tin as i need the tin for my next bake?
I would ideally remove them once they have set otherwise they could break apart a bit x
Hello,
Just about to bake these! Cannot wait. Only question is, do I need to let the shortbread base cool before I pour over the lemon curd topping?
No you don’t as they go back into the oven x
I absolutely love these! They’re so yummy but I’ve made them 3 times now and every time I get a bit of a skin on top which is fine but the underneath isn’t a solid like your pictures and mine stay quite sticky. I’ve tried baking slighting longer and keeping in the fridge until they’re all gone (usually 2 days haha!) not sure where I’m going wrong? Love all your recipes, thank you so much for sharing! X
Hiii! I’m so glad you love them. Try lowering the temperature and baking for longer x
My absolute favorite shortbread recipe! These lemon bars are perfect and so, so flavorful!
Hi Jane,
Absolutley love your recipes and regularly use them to bake yummy treats. These looked delicious so thought I’d try them. However, I’m sure I followed the instructions but they have come out with a really chewy, tough layer at the top of the lemon, it almost looks like a sponge on top and not at all smooth and even like yours. Any idea what I might have done wrong so I can give it another go? Many thanks x
They sound over baked – try reducing the oven temp if you can!
These are delishh! I made them 2 days ago for the first time. I used 5 Large eggs instead of 6Ms, I was a little worried putting it in the oven, as the lemon mixture was very liquid, but they came out delish! I was wondering… I want to try them with orange next, could I add choc chips into mixture before final baking to make it a chocolate orange bar?
Yeah I think that would be fine but I would imagine the chocolate chips would sink – you could try making the base chocolate instead by using some cocoa powder in the base? xx
These are amazing!! I was a little worried to start with, pouring lemon mix over cooked shortbread biscuit as it was very very liquidy, but they turned out fantastic. I used 5 L eggs.
I would like to try with orange next time and I was wondering could I add chocolate chips in mixture before baking to get a chocolate orange flavour?
Thank you!
Mines still in the oven, after mixing the flour and sugar < I then added the lemon zest to incorporate then I whisked the eggs and and lemon juice together before pour on dry mixture to mix, then poured whole lot in jug then poured over shortbread, I had a fear it would slop while pouring straight from the bowl over otherwise.
Just put my first batch of these in the oven and they already smell amazing. I’ve been looking for a nice simple lemony recipe for my charity bake sales and it looks like we could be in for a winner 🙂
Hi Jane, made this recipe and absolutely loved it. My one question would be why was my lemon curd still quite gooey after setting it overnight in the fridge? There was no wobble when I took it out of the oven and when I cut it, there was not a clear definition between biscuit and curd.
It may just have needed a bit longer baking is all – sometimes it can look solid but underneath may still be a bit under so just add a few minutes on next time!! x
Thank you, they still tasted delicious.
I only have large eggs in my fridge here in Scotland – do I reduce the number of eggs or use the same amount? Probably not an issue as I have compared medium and large eggs from different stores and to be quite honest not much different in weight between them!?
I would maybe reduce the eggs by one? Egg sizes can vary so medium is 53-63g, and large is 63-73g roughly so they can be quite different, or similar!
Wow! made a batch of these today and cannot wait to try them, going to serve them with some raspberry coulis and fresh raspberries, the smell while they were baking was incredible
Wow! These pack a lemony punch. Absolutely delicious and turned out perfect, thank you for a wonderful recipe I’ll use again and again.
Lemon is my favourite flavour and these really hit the spot, they’re deliciously zesty and very refreshing. They are also so easy to make with clear instructions. I really recommend them, they’d be lovely as part of a summery afternoon tea with some homemade lemonade.
Hi Jane, made these today and have a couple of questions. How firmly do you press the shortbread mix? Mine taxed lovely but the shortbread wasn’t really crumbly? Also I had like a skin on the top of the lemon mix. Is that right or have I done it wrong?
Yeah so my shortbread is usually a very crumbly mix, so I press it down firmly till it’s smooth! And that’s usually because of the air when you whisk the mixture together – it’s quite common and you can get rid of the air bubbles by lightly blow torching the top before baking, or just do the sprinkle of icing sugar to hide it! X
Thank you Jane for this amazing recipe. Tried it last weekend and froze half to stop us eating them all! Absolutely perfect lemony hit and soft shortbread which is all perfect. We love em. One question – on completion they looked just like your picture, but after setting in fridge they went sticky. I have stored them in the fridge and they are constantly sticky (but obvs delish!) – what did I do wrong?
Like many others, I spent lockdown trying dishes I’ve never tackled before, and your blog is my go-to. How do you stay slim??! Thank you Jane 😊👍
So glad you liked them!! They can be a bit sticky, but it may be that they needed a little longer baking? xx
I made these this week, the whole family LOVED them. Thank you so much. X
Hi Jane! I made these yesterday and my shortbread base took a little while longer to cook, so I’m hoping that turns out ok! 🙈 But my question is the lemon topping seems to have a sponge top to it, is that right or have I gone wrong somewhere? Thanks!
It could be that the lemon part is over baked slightly? Also if there is lots of air in the egg mixture it can leave like a foam on top before baking which can look a little weird sometimes!! x
Made this as looking for new recipes during lockdown everyone in my family and friends loved it requests for more
Another fabulous recipe, made these today and they are gorgeous! I also made them with stork block so they would be dairy free for a colleague and can confirm this works beautifully still!
I’d just like to say thank you for your wonderful blog, I truly have baked my way through lockdown and for some unknown reason I had never stumbled across your blog until this time. Baking has helped me keep myself grounded through the uncertain times, and your recipes have never failed me. So thank you, and I look forward to baking many more!
AHh thank you so much, that’s so lovely of you to say! And I’m so glad this recipe was a hit! xx
Made these this afternoon- absolutely delicious! Recipe so easy too. Had some left over blueberries so added these to the lemon curd mix, seemed to work well and looks pretty!
I have made your lemon bar brother text me when are you bring more
Thank you! I was recommended to look at your site a couple of Months ago. I am not an experienced baker by any means but everything I have cooked has turned out very well and my family have enjoyed everything! I made these amazing lemon slices yesterday and they were a real hit, although I must confess we couldn’t wait until they were set and had some warm and oozy with a cup of tea on a wet Sunday afternoon, totally recommended!!!!!!!
Ahh warm and ooozy ones are still delicious! So glad you enjoyed them!!
Hi Jane, love your recipes! I’ve made so many of them. If I wanted to make this in a 9×12 tin how would I adjust the recipe please 🙂 xx
I would use 1/3 more of the recipe – baking time will also increase by about 5-10 minutes (for both layers) x
Absolutely amazing recipes! Star 🌟
Hello I was wondering if there was any reason not to use a spring form tin? Thanks 😊
As this is a traybake, I never use springform tins!
Wow! delicious made them a few hours after you posted it!! Had to keep double checking the recipe to make sure it was only 50g of flour. Will be doing again. Loving your recipes and have told lots of people about it. Thanks and keep them coming 😊
I have baked these today but the top has gone brown. Where have I gone wrong?
Your oven is probably too high!
Hello, made these and they are delicious. Thank you. For freezing, would you just allow to fully defrost in fridge/counter before enjoying as normal?
Hey! And yes x
I love anything lemon so can’t wait to make these! I’m dairy free so can’t use unsalted butter so what’s the best option? Would Stork block work?
Stork block should be okay yes! x
I have had these from costa coffee before and are delicious I will definitely bake them.
Yesss!! They are so similar! x
Hi Jane, how many grams is a medium egg? I’m in the US and a large egg, which is the size almost always used in baking, is 50g. I look forward to making the lemon bars.
In the UK medium eggs are about 50-60g, so it would be your large!
Do you have to use fresh lemon juice or is the one in a bottle just as good?
Hey! As mentioned in the post you can use bottled – but obviously then you don’t have to use the zest.
Cant wait to try this recipe! I have tried so many of your recipes and they have come out perfect!!! Always exciting when you post new ones.
Ahh yay!! I hope you love them! x
Could you use flax eggs instead?
I’m not sure to be honest – a large majority of vegan/egg free versions I’ve seen use a coconut or silken tofu as a base which I imagine would be better.
These look absolutely lovely, me thinks I’ll have try them this week! Love it when you post a new recipe and also looking forward to a new YouTube update too xx.
Thanks!