Little Cupcake Bakeshop’s Meyer Lemon Bars

Crust: 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Lemon Curd:

• 11 large egg yolks
• 3 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice 
• 1/4 cup Meyer lemon zest 
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Icing:

• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Preheat your oven to 300°F.

Make the crust: mix together all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Press the dough into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake for 18 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Make a double boiler for the lemon curd: fill a pot about a quarter of the way full with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, whole eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Place the bowl over the pot of simmering water and whisk continuously until thick and the temperature reaches 180°F, about 10 minutes. (Note: the bottom of the bowl should not reach the water—at least 2 to 3 inches of space between the bowl and water is optimal.)

Turn off the heat, and whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it’s thoroughly combined. Whisk in the cream.

Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve over the cooled crust, pressing through with a rubber spatula to push as much curd as possible through the sieve. Spread the curd evenly over the crust and bake until firm in the middle, about 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the icing: in a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup milk with the sugar and vanilla bean paste. Add the additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time until you achieve a drizzlable consistency.

Once the lemon bars have baked and cooled, drizzle the icing on top and cut into 6 columns and 12 rows, for 36 pieces.