Lemon Trifle

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom and spring is officially here!  

Except for the unexpected snowfall we had here in Santa Barbara this weekend...

(Picture courtesy EdHat.com)

I'm all about convenience; aren't we all?? 

This lemon trifle must be the easiest dessert I've ever made.  In total, prep and assembly time = 10 minutes tops! So easy and delicious! 

Such a beautiful dessert to grace your spring dessert table/bar.

I decided to make individual trifles, which makes portion control easier!  

To make one large one, use a 3-quart serving bowl; Preferably clear to see all the fancy layers. 

Lemon Trifle

Yields one 3-quart Trifle or 4 individual trifles 

Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart 

Ingredients:

15-20 ladyfinger biscuits (french)

3/4 cup dessert wine, such as cream sherry (for non-alcoholic use lemonade)

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

11/2 cup lemon curd (homemade or store bought), plus more for garnish if needed 

2 tablespoons lemon rind, grated for garnish

Preparation:

Place ladyfingers evenly in a rimmed baking sheet.  Pour sherry over the tops of the biscuits.  Let sit for 5-7 minutes, carefully turning them halfway through soaking. 

In a bowl of a standing mixer (or hand mixer) fitted with the whisk attachment, pour the cream and sugar.  Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, cover and place in the fridge until ready to assemble.  

Place ladyfingers in the bottom of the bowl/bowls, spoon 3/4 lemon curd (using 3 tablespoons of lemon curd for individual trifles), then top with whipped cream.  Repeat this step ending with either a spoonful of lemon curd or lemon rind for garnish.  

Place trifles in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight before serving.

Perfect Lemon Bars

As I was making my daily (sometimes twice a day) stroll through the local grocery store, the lemons seemed to jump out at me. They were gorgeous!

Bright, vibrant color (way more appetizing then they have been the past few months) and HUGE! They nearly stopped me in my tracks. The first thing I envisioned was tangy lemon bars. I haven't had a lemon bar in a long time. Quite honestly, I can't remember the last time I had one, sad I know.

Before our house burned in a California Wildfire, we had beautiful lemon trees. Homegrown fruits and veggies always seem to taste much better then any organic store bought. Luckily, we have a very small tree in our backyard that produces small lemons and was able to incorporate a few into my lemon bars!

I prefer my lemon bars to have a pretty similar shortbread to lemon topping ratio. I've tried many recipes, finding it was either too gooey, too tangy, too eggy, too thick, too bitter etc..

I just love these lemon bars and I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do!


Now...*drum roll* the Giveaway Winner is Zoe Packman! Congrats Zoe! I'll email you shortly with further info! :)

Don't fret if you didn't win....I have an awesome Sponsored Halloween Package full of lots of goodies in the next few days!

Lemon Bars
Recipe Adapted by Epicurean Mom


Ingredients


For Shortbread:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Topping:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 large lemons, juiced
zest of 1 or 1/2 lemon (I used 1 whole lemon, since I love the tang)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x11 or 9x13 inch pan.

Sift the flour and confectioners' sugar in medium bowl. Add the salt and melted butter. Mix until well incorporated and, evenly press into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until just a light golden brown. Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk eggs until light, pale and fluffy. Add the sugar and salt, stir well. Sift the all-purpose flour into the egg mixture and whisk until smooth. Using a sieve, strain the lemon juice (adding some pulp if you desire) into the topping. Whisk in the lemon zest, until smooth. Pour mixture onto warm or cold shortbread.

Bake for 25-35 minutes. The topping should be set but slightly jiggly and a slight golden brown. Cool completely before cutting the bars into squares.