Lemon Bars

EN   I can never say no to a good lemon cake and I'm always in search of that perfect soft lemony texture. And I think I might have found it. I've already made few lemon cakes, but only this recipe is worth sharing on the blog, because it has everything what you expect from bars. They are soft, sweet, you can feel lemon very well and to top it off, very easy to make and of course way too easy to eat, because they are cut in cute small squares. Trust me, your hand will be reaching like: oh one more, okay one more again and then that's it....oooookay maybe the last one and voilà, you will see the tray is empty :)

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LT   Aš niekuomet negaliu atsisakyti gabalėlio gero citrininio pyrago, todėl esu pastovioje to minkštučio citrininio gabalėlio paieškoje. Manau, kad būsiu jį atradusi. Esu gaminusi keletą citrininių pyragų, tačiau tik šiandienis receptas yra vertas atsidurti mano bloge, nes jis pasižymi viskuo, ko tikimės iš citrininio pyrago kvadračiukų. Minkštas, purus, saldus ir tas nuostabus citrininis skonis tirpstantis burnoje - štai toks turi būti tas gabaliukas. O dar kas smagiau, tai kad šį citrininį pyragą labai lengva pagaminti, kaip viens du trys, na blogesnė dalis yra ta, kad jis taip ir išnyksta viens du trys iš lėkštelės. Patikėkit manim, jūsų ranka sieks vieno gabalėlio, na poto dar vieno, tuomet prabils sąžinė aj gana, tuomet nustumsit ją į šoną ir sieksit dar vieno gabalėlio, kol galiausiai, oplia, nebėra daugiau :))

LEMON BARS  from the Mel's kitchen cafe

Lemon batter
142 g all purpose flour
155 g sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon lemon zest
8 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon glaze
75 g powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Preparation

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line an 20x20 cm baking pan with a baking paper so that it hangs over two of the edges (to lift out bars later).

- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and lemon zest.

- In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, egg yolk, lemon juice and vanilla extract.

- Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and mix until combined.

- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

- Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't over bake, because they might be dry. After removing form the oven, let it cool down completely.

- For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth and combined.

- Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake and spread it evenly with a knife or spatula (whatever works the best for you).

- Place the bars in the fridge for 1-2 hours. After that you can cut it into small squares and enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee! They can be served chilled or at room temperature.

P.S. I made a double glaze portion, because one portion seemed not enough for me and of course, I didn't have 20x20 cm pan, so I used a rectangular one, worked well, just lemon bars turned out lower.