Gluten-Free Lemonade Bars I

Yes, so it seems as if we are obsessing on desserts and sweets. Today, we baked up a pan of Lemonade Bars. One of my all time favorite desserts, it seems natural that this would also be one of the first things we would work on to make allergy-free. 

I always like to have fresh lemons on hand, but today I only had two, thus our recipe for 'Lemonade Bars' was created. Also, I have been wanting to test out a recipe with almond flour as the base so this is that first attempt.

We, of course, had our typical issues. Like, forgetting to zest the lemon BEFORE we juiced it. And, the stirring, stirring, stirring to keep the eggs from scrambling instead of custarding, brought of the not very unique, but always enjoyable phrase, "I did my stirring...12 minutes of it...in Azkaban!"

 

In the end, making these bars dairy-free with the dairy-free butter blend worked out well for the lemon custard, as did using both fresh lemon and condensed lemonade. Again, being able to use egg yolks is always a bonus in this strange new allergy world. The lemon custard in these bars worked out perfectly.

The almond crust, however, was limp and just okay. I think if you really like almonds, this would be okay. My husband thinks that taste wonderful, but he, too, thinks they could use more firmness in the crust. We are going to work on a more traditional 'shortbread' type crust to go with this lemonade custard, as well.

This was today's effort. We are calling it Gluten-Free Lemonade Bars I, because there will no doubt, be a Gluten-Free Lemonade Bars II to come.

Gluten-Free Lemonade Bars I 

Crust:

1 cup almond flour

2 tablespoons dairy-free butter blend, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

Lemon custard filling:

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup dairy-free butter blend

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 

1/4 cup condensed lemonade

Zest of one lemon

Powdered sugar

Instructions

Making the crust: 

Stir almond flour together with melted butter and sugar. Spread mixture evenly into a 9" ungreased square pan. Press down firmly. Bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Turn oven down to 300°F.

Making the custard: 

Blend the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, condensed lemonade (straight from can of frozen lemonade, no water added) and lemon zest together until well mixed. Pour custard mixture into double boiler on stove or use heat proof glass bowl over pan of low boiling water. Slowly scoop spoonfuls of dairy-free butter blend

into custard mixture, stirring constantly. Let butter blend melt completely between each each scoop until 1/2 cup is stirred in. 

Allow custard to simmer over steaming water until it thickens. Stir constantly. This should take about 10 to 12 minutes. Take off the heat and remove any curdled egg bits or overly large bits of lemon zest. Cool for 15 minutes before spreading the lemon custard over the crust. Bake at 300°F for 16 to 18 minutes, until custard is set. 

Cool first, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Sprinkle top with dusting of powdered sugar.