Lemon Bar Parfait Food

LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.
• Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
• For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
• Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

LEMON MERINGUE PARFAIT

Steps:

• Line a 20cm round tin, preferably loose-based, with cling film, using more than one piece if necessary to cover the bottom and up the sides, and pop in the freezer.
• Roughly break up the meringues with your fingers into a bowl, aiming for nothing bigger than a golf ball.
• Put the cream and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until starting to stiffen. Stop when it looks floppy, like Greek yogurt.
• Grate over the lemon zest and sprinkle over the gin and meringue rubble. Use a large spoon or spatula to fold the cream up, over and round, until just combined.
• Stir the lemon curd so it's gloopy rather than firm; if it remains too thick, dilute with a tsp of gin. Dollop over the surface of the cream. Take your spoon and fold it in, turning the bowl as you do so - no more than a dozen folds, so the curd forms streaks. Spoon gently into the tin and freeze for at least four hours. Once firm, cover with cling film.
• About 10-20 mins before serving, remove the parfait from the freezer, invert onto a plate, peel away the cling film, and return right-side-up, at room temperature. Serve in wedges with lemon curd drizzled over and the fruit on the side.

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
• Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. For a festive tray, make another pan using limes instead of lemons and adding a drop of green food coloring to give a very pale green. After both pans have cooled, cut into uniform 2 inch squares and arrange in a checker board fashion.

LEMON BAR PARFAIT

Steps:

• Cut lemon bar into bite-sized pieces. In small bowl, mix whipped topping, lemon juice, and a teaspoon of lemon peel. In small serving glass, layer lemon bar pieces and whipped topping mixture. Repeat until gone. Garnish with remaining lemon peel.