Winter weather results in Not Quite Lemon Bars
The craving: lemon bars.
The obstacle: no fresh lemons and a layer of snow, slush and ice on the street for days on end.
What I did have was a jar of lemon curd that someone had given me.
A quick internet search provided a handful of options.
I eventually settled on a recipe at The Typical Mom, temeculablogs.com, which required just five ingredients: cake mix, butter, egg, lemon curd and confectioners’ sugar.
There’s no shame in boxed cake mix. Obviously, since I made the following recipe when I couldn’t leave my house to get to a grocery store, it’s something I keep on hand. That being said, lemon bars are a dessert I usually make from scratch, preferring to make my own fresh lemon curd and shortbread crust. They just taste better that way.
But when cravings and snowstorms collide one sometimes has to resort to unusual measures.
I tinkered with the recipe a bit, using a smaller pan and adding a spoonful of Nielsen Massey lemon paste (a teaspoon of lemon extract or flavoring would work just as well). I opted for a smaller pan because I had such a small jar of lemon curd and I decided I’d rather have a thicker crust and more filling than a thin crust with scant filling.
I’d be lying if I said the resulting dessert tasted exactly like lemon bars. I’d describe them more like dense little lemony bites of gooey topped cake. Not quite gooey butter cake, but vaguely similar. And they did satisfy my craving for a sweet lemony dessert.
Not Quite Lemon Bars
1 (15.25-ounce) box yellow or white cake mix
½ cup salted butter, melted
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon paste OR
1 teaspoon lemon extract or flavoring, optional
1 (9- to 13-ounce) jar lemon curd Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Line the bottom of a 7-by-10-inch or 9-by-13-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, melted butter, egg and lemon paste (if using) until no dry streaks remain.
Press mixture evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the lemon curd evenly over the unbaked crust.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned.
Let cool completely before dusting with confectioners’ sugar and cutting into squares.