These lemon curd-poppy seed crumb bars have a creamy, almost custard-y, lemon filling that contrasts beautifully with the crisp poppy seed crust. You can use any lemon curd you wish (both homemade and store-bought work fine). In my opinion, these bars taste even better after chilling in the fridge overnight.
Preparation Details
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins
Total Time: 5 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 16
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9×9-inch pan with enough parchment paper to have overhang all sides.
- In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and almond extract until thoroughly combined. Add in flour, baking powder, and poppy seeds and mix until combined.
- Measure out about 1 1/2 cups of the mixture and press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Reserve remaining mixture to use as the crumb topping.
- Bake in the preheated oven until crust is just beginning to turn golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Mix lemon curd, lemon zest, flour, egg, vanilla extract, and salt together in a bowl with a whisk or electric mixer until thoroughly combined. Pour in sweetened condensed milk and mix until combined.
- Remove crust from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Pour filling over crust and smooth into an even layer using a spatula. Sprinkle reserved crumbs evenly over filling.
- Bake until bars look set, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow bars to cool completely in the pan. Place bars into the refrigerator until chilled, at least 4 hours. Cut into 16 bars before serving.
