Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars are crisp shortbread crusts topped with a tangy lemon filling, and has this perfect balance of tart and sweetness. I prefer the bars not too sweet so I have reduced the amount of sugar used in the lemon filling. The recipe is from Joy of baking - a good collection of recipes for all kinds of bakers.

Shortbread Crust:

1/4 cup(1/2 stick)unsalted butter, room temperature
1/8 cup confectioner's(powdered or icing) sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Lemon Filling:

1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 egg
fresh lemon juice (juice of one large lemon)
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp all purpose flour

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, an 8 x 8 inch pan.

Shortbread Crust: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour and salt and beat until the dough just comes together. Press onto the bottom of your prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Lemon Filling: Beat the sugar and eggs until nice and smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest and stir. Fold in the flour. Pour the filling over the shortbread crust and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the filling has set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.

Makes ~ 8 bars

Saffron butter cake with orange glaze

This recipe is from the book "Gale Gand's Short and Sweet" gifted by a good friend of mine. Its loaded with quick and yummy desserts and is a treat for someone with a sweet tooth like me! Thanks a ton Soumya!

The saffron and butter give it a rich yellow color. The glaze is what makes the cake very moist.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup orange juice
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup(1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 pinches of saffron

Method:

Heat the oven to 350 deg F. Butter a loaf pan and line with parchment paper. In a pan, bring the orange juice and saffron to a boil, turn off the heat and let cool.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the butter until creamy, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Add half of the orange juice mixture and mix well. Reserve the remaining juice. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes.

For the glaze: Stir remaining 1/3 cup sugar into the orange juice until the sugar is dissolved.

When the cake is done, let it cool for few minutes. Turn the cake onto a cooling rack. Peel the parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, spread the glaze all over the cake and let it soak in. Repeat until all the glaze is used.


Serve the cake at room temperature. If tightly wrapped and refrigerated, the cake will last upto a week.

Serves 4

Shrikhand

Shrikhand is one of the popular dishes in Maharashtra. And it happens to be one of my favorite desserts. It goes very well with pooris.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 tbsp milk
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
few saffron strands
chopped pistachios for garnish

Method:

Mix the saffron strands, nutmeg and cardamom powder in milk and keep aside. Place the yogurt in a muslin cloth(or a thin white cloth). Tie the ends of the cloth together and hang it for atleast two hours. Once all the water from the yogurt has drained, pour it into a bowl. Add powdered sugar, saffron milk and beat well until there are no lumps and everything is well blended. Refrigerate for an hour. Serve as is, or with pooris.

Serves 4