Lemon Raspberry Squares

I can't truly take credit for this recipe.  The base recipe was given to me by the one and only Liz Young. I merely tweaked it for the Christmas season.  Lemon squares are tart and sweet and adding raspberry jam adds a layer of tanginess to this recipe that makes it fresh and fun.

Lemon squares are incredibly easy to make as long as you have the right pan and you make a good crust.

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Confectioners sugar
1 cup Cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup Seedless raspberry jam

Lemon Curd:
4 Large eggs
2 cups Sugar
1/3 cup Fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp Lemon zest
1/4 cup Flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Thoroughly grease the sides and bottom of a 9x13 glass pan.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend the flour and confectioners sugar.  Add the butter 1 cube at a time to the mixture.  The mixture will become crumbly. Do not overmix and form a solid dough.

2.  Spread the mixture evenly in the pan, and all the way to the edges.  Pat the crust down until it becomes a more solid dough.  Make sure you get the crust all the way to the edge of the pan. Attempt to have it bond with the glass pan.  Place dough in oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crust turns a golden brown color.  Set aside, let it cool.

3.  When the crust has cooled, warm the half cup of jam in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Spread the jam evenly over the crust.

4.  In the bowl of a mixer, whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until fully combined.  Add the flour and baking powder.  Whisk until fully combined, scraping down the bowl if necessary.  Pour the lemon curd over the crust.  Make sure it is spread evenly across the crust.

5.  Place lemon squares in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until curd sets.  Allow squares to cool overnight before trying to depan.

Nutritional info based on 48 squares from a 9x13 pan

107 calories

16.5 g carbs

4.3 g fat

1.2 g protein

Old Post 15: Allegro Hearth Bakery

Murray Ave in Squirrel Hill is a bakery jackpot.  In three short blocks, there are 3 bakeries, all offering a different type of sweet treat.  Sweet Tammy's for the kosher folks, Gluuteny for the gluten free and Allegro Hearth Bakery for the bread lover in you.

The Allegro Hearth is primarily a bread bakery.  They have multiple kinds of fresh made bread available everyday- rye loaves, boule, baguettes, etc- as well as a smattering of other baked treats.  

And that's about all there is to say about Allegro Hearth Bakery.  

In all seriousness, they are a very middle-of-the-road kind of institution.  With no website, it's hard to get to know the bakery, understand their full menu, or see what they see themselves as being.  The store itself lacks personality and is quite stoic.

The food is not much different.  While the kalamata olive bread was quite good, nothing else really stood out.  The French baguette was not very...French.  The texture of the crumb and thickness of the crust lent it more to a sourdough baguette. 

On the baked goods side, the lemon square was on the incredibly tart side and had a loose curd.  The blueberry crisp was flavorful, but definitely needed to be heated and served with ice cream to enable a truly enjoyable dessert experience.

One of their more unique items were the cookie cups.  They look like cupcakes, but they are actually made of cookie dough.  The appearance and texture though, are disconnects.  The brain tells you it will be a cupcake that tastes like a chocolate chip cookie, not a chocolate chip cookie shaped like a cupcake.   The problem with a cupcake shaped chocolate chip cookie is that it is incredibly dense and chewy and also very dry.  Not to mention the chocolate icing on top was hard. 

Overall, the Allegro Hearth was an ok bakery.  There just isn't much to it and they aren't putting out any kind of message about themselves for people to learn and respond to.  Stick to the bread and you'll be sure to get a loaf to satisfy your artisan bread craving, but don't expect to be blown away by it's deliciousness.

Allegro Hearth Bakery's Kalamata Olive Loaf on the Sugar Love Scale:

Taste ♥♥♥
Texture ♥♥♥
Appearance ♥♥♥
Overall ♥♥♥