Mango Lemon Bars

In the final edition of the May Mango Mania series, I bring you Mango Lemon Bars! ❤

I’m here in front of my computer feeling a little lost for words. Back in April, I set a goal for myself – to post 10 Mango recipes (2 per week) throughout the month of May on the blog for you all to enjoy. I have never before been able to manage posting twice a week or even powering through a blog series. (Remember the Monday Muse Series? It was goodie, right? Should I bring it back?) 😛

And so, you will understand how happy I am to have followed through on the goal I set, and that I was able to share with you 10 mango recipes that I hope you have tried or are excited to try. 🙂 I’d love to know, did you enjoy the series?

Now let’s get to business; we’re talking Mango Lemon Bars today. I don’t know about you, but if there was a platter of lemon bars placed in front of me, there’s nothing you could say to me that would stop me from reaching for another one. It’s a classic and with good reason. You can never go wrong with a cookie base topped with the silkiest lemon filling that is baked to creamy perfection. It’s the kind of classic that has been perfected over several decades and man is it a winner EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!

So, did I mess with the classic? YES I DID! I added sweet, sunny mango puree to the filling and desiccated coconut to the cookie base. How do I say this without sounding like I’m gloating? It was mind-blowing! The I-can’t-wrap-my-head-around-how-amazing-this-is kinda GOOD!

Before you say ‘You’re not the first one to come up with a Mango Lemon Bar recipe’, I want to say I know this concept isn’t particularly new. But well, THIS Mango Lemon Bar recipe is the-bomb-dot-com. (So cheesy, I know!) And once you try it, you’ll know that it’s one for the books! I mean, print the recipe, or note it down and stash it away in your recipe box for a rainy day, already!

This recipe makes 16 squares or 32 rectangle bars. Here’s what you need:

For the Cookie Base:

• All Purpose Flour – 1 & 3/4 cups
• Granulated Sugar – 1/3 cup
• Unsalted Butter – 226 g, cold & cubed
• Desiccated Coconut – 1/2 cup

For the Mango Lemon filling:

• Mangoes – 2 large, cubed and freshly pureed (makes about 1 and 1/2 cups of puree)
• Caster Sugar – 1 cup
• Eggs – 4, large
• Lemon Juice – 1/3 cup, freshly squeezed
• Vanilla Extract – 2 tsp
• All Purpose Flour – 1/4 cup

To Serve:

• Icing Sugar – 1/4 cup

Here’s how you make these drop dead delicious Mango Lemon Bars:

• Make the Cookie Base: Pre heat the oven to 170 °C/340 °F. Grease and line an 8-inch square baking tin with parchment paper. Lightly toast the desiccated coconut in a pan placed on low heat until pale golden. Transfer it into a bowl and leave to cool. Add in the flour, sugar and cold butter and using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut the butter into the mix, lightly kneading until the mixture is crumbly and sticky and all the butter has been mixed through.
• Baked the Cookie Base: Transfer the cookie base mixture into the prepared cake tin and press it down till it makes an even layer. Pop it into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned. Remove and cool completely.
• Make the Mango Lemon filling: In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar with a wire whisk until pale and frothy, about 2 minutes. Add in the mango puree, lemon juice and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Sift in the flour and whisk well until smooth and no lumps of flour remain.
• Bake the Mango Lemon Bars: Pour the Mango Lemon filling over the cooled cookie base and tap the cake tin down against the counter a few times to release any air pockets. Bake for 25 minutes at 170 °C/340 °F or until the sides are firm, and the centre is slightly wobbly. Cool completely before refrigerating for at least 2-3 hours.
• Serve: Slice the Mango Lemon Bars into squares, rectangles, or triangles and dust generously with icing sugar. Serve chilled.

I love lemon bars, they are right up among my top 10 desserts. But every once in a while, they need a little kick for added oomph, like this Pink Lemonade version that rocked at Valentine’s two years ago! The addition of mango to lemon bars is heightened oomph galore!

The cookie base is crunchy, crispy and crackly (the 3 Cs to a perfect cookie base). It’s a lot like shortbread, buttery and crumbly, with the addition of toasted coconut which oozes nutty flavour notes while adding crunch. Also, using granulated sugar = extra crackle! The real showstopper, however, is the Mango Lemon layer – smooth, fragrant filling; silky, creamy and baked to that flawless consistency where it’s just set enough to be sliced, but soft and melt-in-the-mouth nonetheless.

What about the flavours, you may ask? These Mango Lemon Bars are the ultimate combination of sweet and sour, tangy and nutty. They pour forth the lushness of pureed mangoes – juicy and golden – beautifully offset by the perfumed zing of the humble lemon. Dancing a smooth taste-tango with the mango lemon layer are the buttery and toasty hints dribbling from the cookie crust, so earthy, grounded and moreish; the perfect foundation to a hit dessert!

These Mango Lemon Bars opened to rave reviews, with Dad gobbling three bars after lunch, before he realized he had THREE! Mom loved it too, saying the mango lemon filling layer was good enough to be eaten on its own and after having two bars, saying she would very much like to ‘taste’ the dessert after dinner too. *Insert dramatic eye roll*

If you’re like me, you love cooking/baking hearty meals and treats for your family and friends and having something disappear long before you expected it to, is always a tell-tale sign that you’ve done something well. 😉 Make these Mango Lemon Bars for yourself and your loved ones this weekend, it’s the perfect dessert to mark the start of a glorious summer! Or in our case, just the chilled dessert we need to give us some reprieve from the searing heat!

Want to Pin This recipe for later? Here you go…

Psst… If you’d like to, you could come check me out on Pinterest! I pin a tonne of fun stuff – chocolate, lots of dessert, easy weeknight recipes; and home decor (I’m obsessed with home office spaces!)😛

Also, for regular updates on what’s happening in The Foodscape kitchen, follow me on Instagram at @thefoodscape! You’ll love all the deliciousness there, I promise! ❤

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