This month the Tuesdays with Dorie group got to choose between baking Lemon Squares, French Style and a Fluted Carrot-Tangerine Cake with Tangerine Glaze in any order. Since I already made the latter, it was time to make some lemon squares! I decided to bake Raspberry-Lemon Squares, which is basically a spin off of the Lemon Squares recipe in Baking Chez Moi.
Lemons have a great sunny taste that become even more special when paired with the deep flavor that raspberries bring. I was inclined to make these Raspberry-Lemon Squares when I first saw them featured on the Driscoll’s website.
The lemon curd filling requires a lot of butter. In fact, the recipe called for so much butter in the curd that I felt like it was a little ridiculous; I ended up omitting 2 tablespoons of butter for my arteries’ sake and I think the taste and texture of the lemon curd both turned out fine.
The lemon curd came together nicely, even without all 18 tablespoons of butter! It thickened after being whisked constantly on the stove at around the 5-minute mark.
I sprinkled raspberries over the Raspberry-Lemon Squares crust I had made while the lemon curd chilled in the refrigerator, and then poured the curd over the raspberries.
After smoothing out the lemon curd, I pinched bits and pieces of crust dough and littered them all over the top of the soon-to-be Raspberry-Lemon Squares, then put the pan in the oven to bake for about 45 minutes.
I added another cup of fresh raspberries to the top of the Raspberry-Lemon Squares midway through baking. Towards the end of baking, the lemon curd really started to bubble up and caramelize at the edges.
I dusted the top of the Raspberry-Lemon Squares with a little bit of confectioner’s sugar.
The crust turned out great! It was crunchy and buttery, and it complemented the bright lemon and raspberry flavors.
The part that was tricky was determining when to take the pan out of the oven; I was waiting for the tops to brown a little more, but I didn’t want to burn the curd because they started to bubble a lot on the sides. From the looks of it, it seems as though I charred the edges; thankfully, these squares didn’t taste burnt (at least not the part I ate)!
Recipe for Raspberry-Lemon Squares found here. Lemon Squares, French Style recipe on page 326 of Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan.
11 thoughts on “Raspberry-Lemon Squares”
Yum – I like your raspberry version. The crunchy bits at the sides were the best.
I wish I didn’t know how much butter went into these, it would make eating them so much more enjoyable as they really do taste great! I love how pretty the raspberries make them look.
Yours are so pretty with the raspberries. Nice addition! I am sure they were equally delicious!
Your lemon squares looks so pretty with the added raspberries. I thought the butter was too much, and have reduced the amount too, the curd turned out great! I love the curd, got to stop myself from eating it from the spoon!
They look lovely and delicious, Dorue mentions that the caramelized parts are her favorite bits.
A great addition with the raspberries, they look so delicious.
Oooo, raspberries. They must have tasted as fantastic as they look.
I wanted to try the raspberry addition too! Ended up going with the plain but yours are gorgeous.
I loved the cartelized edges-they were tasty. This is so beautiful with the raspberries. I’m definitely going to have to try that next time I make them.
I omitted the extra two tbsp. of butter from both the curd and the dough and mine turned out fine too. And I LOVE your addition of raspberries — what a great idea! They look soooo good! I also worried about the potentially burnt edges, but after cooking with Dorie through her cookbook, I just call it a “French bake” and smile. 🙂 Great job!
Beautiful!