LPR Bars

Sometimes I think the concoctions that come out of my oven are a direct result of a weekly fridge cleanout. For nearly two weeks I have had a bunch of lemons sitting and waiting to be made into either some sort of baked good or to nobly get sliced and diced as an accoutrement to a vodka tonic. Sadly, neither has taken place recently so I figured the Bank Holiday Monday was a good opportunity to do both. In the process of making my lemon squares I came across some passionruit and raspberries that were also longingly asking to be put to some good use. As my Yoga teacher states at the end of my weekly sessions, “With all that hard work, now is the time to let the new fresh energy back into our systems.” I think I’d like to adapt that to my fridge, “With all that hard work (not that hard when drinking a V&T ), now is the time to let the new fresh food from my Bank Holiday trip to Whole Foods into my now empty fridge.”

The creation of these lemon bars made me realise just how desperate I am for a food processor.

I had promised myself that my first big purchase in London would be this culinary gift from above. It’s been 5 months and I still haven’t bought it. Why you might ask? Good question.

The fact that I have food stored behind our living room couch gives a sneak peak at the lack of kitchen space at 168 Buckler Court. Luxuries like food processors are going to have to wait unless I want my Choos set aside and plan to store my kitchen appliances in my bedroom.

Ironically, the sad story here is that for the past week 75% of my clothes have been cooling out in my lounge/kitchen area. The pathetic tale here involves a broken wardrobe, piles of hangers, a lot of cursing, and a fix-it man who refuses to fix anything (and even made me get up at 8:30 on Saturday morning to NOT show up).

Ok, so yeah – instead of the food processor I used this archaic tool known as hands…had to knead and work the butter until it resembled fine meal and started to stick together. The crust definitely could have benefited from one or two more on and off turns in the food processor. Alas, it was not meant to be.

LPR (Lemon, Passionfruit, and Raspberry) Bars

Crust

1 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup toasted coconut

85 grams (3/4 stick) chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Topping

1 ½ cups sugar

4 eggs

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Juice and pulp from 2 Passionfruit
¼ cup muddled raspberries
1 tbsp (packed) finely grated lemon peel

¼ cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

For crust:

- Preheat oven to 185°C (350°F).
- Butter a metal baking pan.
- Combine flour, sugar, and salt and then add coconut and butter – work through with hands until -dough begins to stick together.
- Press into pan and bake until golden about 20 minutes.

Topping:

- Combine sugar, eggs, lemon juice, Passionfruit, raspberries, lemon peel, flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl and whisk until smooth and mixed thoroughly.
- Pour filling evenly over hot crust.
- Return to oven and bake until filling begins to brown at edges and is cooked through, about 30 minutes.
- Cool bars.
- Sift powdered sugar over if serving to guests or if you like your LPR Bars sweeter rather then tarter. Personally, I prefer a bit of apucker.