Vegan Lemon bars made easy with troubleshooting tips

Lemon bars are smaller, rectangular lemon pies that are, more or less, prepared the same way as the pie itself. Lemon juice is a crucial ingredient as is the zest, along with the dough that is used to make the crust. But when it comes to vegan lemon bars, there are some minor substitutions such as swapping the regular cream for coconut cream and using a lot of nuts to substitute for the gluten. You can easily use regular glutinous flour in this recipe. We’ve kept this recipe vegan and gluten-free.

Vegan Lemon Bars (Yields 9 bars)

Ingredients

For the Filling

• 120 gm raw cashews
• 240 gm coconut cream (the top hardened part of fatty coconut milk)
• 2 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch
• 120 ml lemon juice (from 4-5 average lemons)
• 1 tbsp lemon zest, heaped (from 2-3 lemons)
• A pinch of salt
• 60 ml honey (plus more to taste)
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar, optional

For the Crust

• 90 gm gluten-free oats
• 115 gm raw almonds
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 4-5 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

Instructions

1. Soak the cashews overnight and in case you don’t have that much time, put the raw cashews in a mixing bowl and pour boiling water, covering the nuts. Let rest them rest for 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease an 8-inch baking dish with butter and line it with parchment paper.
3. Add the oats, almonds, salt, and coconut sugar to a mixer grinder and grinder until you have a fine meal. Then transfer it to a mixing bowl.
4. To the mixing bowl, add honey and melted coconut oil. Add the specified amount for now, if the mixture is too dry, add more later.
5. Stir the mixture until the dough comes together. The dough will be pliable and soft when squeezed between your fingers and not crumble.
6. Spread the dough on the baking tray and place a parchment paper on top of it. Use the bottom of a glass or bowl to compress the dough.
7. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then increase heat a notch to 190°C and bake for 5-8 minutes more. Adjust the time, depending on when the edges turn golden brown and the surfaces brown a bit.
8. Take out the baked crust from the oven to cool. Reduce the oven heat back to 180°C.
9. Drain the cashews after soaking, then add to the mixer grinder, with the coconut cream, arrowroot or cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and honey. Mix until creamy and smooth.
10. Taste the concoction and adjust the flavor by adding more lemon juice, honey, or coconut cream, as needed. You’re aiming for a subtle sweetness and a good lemon punchy flavor.
11. Pour this filling over the somewhat cooled crust and spread it into a smooth layer. Tap the baking pan against the counter to remove any air bubbles.
12. Bake for 20-23 minutes. The edges should be a bit dry and center a little jiggly, not liquid.
13. Remove from the oven, let it rest outside for 10 minutes, then pop it into the refrigerator to cool completely. Keep it overnight or at least four hours.
14. The next day, slice the lemon bars equally and use a sieve to sprinkle powdered sugar over them. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Tips and Tricks for Vegan Lemon Bars

From soaking the cashews, the coconut cream, and the lemon part, we bring you some hacks to get the perfect batch of lemon bars.

• If you're short on time, skip the overnight cashew soaking step and instead use very hot water to soak the cashews for 30 minutes. Make sure the nuts are fully submerged and feel soft when pierced.
• Refrigerate your coconut milk containers overnight it’s difficult to estimate how much one container will yield. Keep them completely still, and away from reach to avoid accidentally jostling them. The cream will solidify on top, making it easy to scoop out the thick white part you need, leaving the clear liquid behind.
• Work smarter by zesting your lemons, room temperature ones, before juicing them, use the fine part of your grater; it's nearly impossible to zest a squeezed lemon. Use only the bright yellow outer layer, avoiding the bitter white pith beneath.
• For the crust, do the finger test to get the best texture, your crust should hold with the feel of wet sand, but not greasy. When pressing down into the pan, use the bottom of a glass or small bowl to evenly pack it, for a firm crust when sliced.
• The best part about lemon bars is the trademark jiggle before it is sliced. Check the lemon bars by gently but firmly shaking. It shouldn’t be too watery (needs more baking) or stiff (it is overbaked). You can still eat overbaked vegan lemon bars.
• The lemon bars will set further as they cool, so slightly underbaked ones are perfect. Overnight refrigeration is good for this vegan dessert.