Lemon Bars with Rainbow of Fruits!!!

Not just any lemon bar….

…but topped with fresh fruit jams for a rainbow of flavors!!

I love lemon bars, but I had thought about how each of these fruits incorporated into a rainbow would go just so perfect with lemon… strawberry-lemon, orange-lemon, pineapple-lemon, kiwi-lemon, blueberry-lemon. So why not make a rainbow fruit creation!

These lemon bars turned out amazing! Even on its own, its such a nice treat! So luckily, you’ll have excess lemon bars based on the below recipe, since the rainbow fruit jam section won’t use the entire area of the lemon bar made. So break off the excess pieces of lemon bar and add tons of your favorite jam on top!

The lemon bar is a very thin layer on top of the crust, but that packs in some amazing flavor!!

Ingredients:

For Crust:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

For Lemon Bar:

• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 all-purpose flour
• 2 lemons, juiced

For Strawberry Jam:

• 2 cups strawberries, diced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons sugar

For Orange Jam:

• 1 1/2 cups mandarin oranges, diced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar

For Pineapple Jam:

• 2 cups pineapples, blended
• 3 tablespoons sugar

For Kiwi Jam:

• 1 1/2 cups kiwi, diced
• 1/4 cup pineapple, blended
• 2 tablespoon sugar

For Blueberry Jam:

• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar

For Whip Cream:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream).
• 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

For Crust:

• Preheat oven to 350F degrees and line 9″x 13″ jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
• With paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar in standing mixer on high speed, until the color is light and texture if fluffy.
• Turn the speed to low and slowly add the flour and salt to the mixture. Mix until just combined.
• Press the crust mixture into the pan, so it is evenly spread out and covers the entire bottom of the pan.
• Place in oven to bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
• Once done, take out of oven to cool.

For Lemon Bar:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour.
• Lightly beat the eggs and whisk into the mixture.
• Whisk in the lemon juice.
• Pour mixture over the crust and place back in oven for about 20 minutes.
• Set the pan on the side to cool and it will firm as it cools down.

For Strawberry Jam:

• On medium heat, place strawberries, lemon juice and sugar in saucepan.
• Use a potato masher, mash the strawberries down.
• Stir the mixture and allow it to come to boil for about 5-10 minutes (the texture should be thicker without much water left).
• Pour into heatproof bowl and allow it to cool prior to using.

For Orange Jam:

• On medium heat, place diced mandarin oranges, lemon juice and sugar into saucepan.
• Use a potato masher and mash the oranges down.
• Stir the mixture and allow it to come to boil for about 5-10 minutes (the texture should be thicker without much water left).
• Pour into heatproof bowl and allow it to cool prior to using.

For Pineapple Jam:

• Place diced pineapple in food processor or blender and blend until smooth texture (I recommend placing all the pineapple needed for the jams into the blender now, as some pineapple puree is needed for the kiwi jam).
• Pour the pineapple puree and sugar into saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir the mixture and allow it to come to boil for about 5-10 minutes (the texture should be thicker without much water left). Because the pineapple was blended, there might be some foam, which is fine and it will dissipate once the mixture is cooled.
• Pour into heatproof bowl and allow it to be cool prior to using.

For Kiwi Jam:

• If you did not already with the pineapple jam, place diced pineapple in food processor or blender and blend until a smooth, puree texture.
• Pour diced kiwi, pineapple puree and sugar into saucepan over medium heat.
• Use a potato masher and mash the oranges down.
• Stir the mixture and allow it to come to boil for about 5-10 minutes (the texture should be thicker without much water left).
• Pour into heatproof bowl and allow it to cool prior to using.

For Blueberry Jam:

• On medium heat, place blueberries, lemon juice and sugar into saucepan.
• Allow the mixture to come to a slight simmer and then use a potato masher and mash the blueberries down.
• Stir the mixture and allow it to come to boil for about 5-10 minutes (the texture should be thicker without much water left).
• Pour into heatproof bowl and allow it to cool prior to using.

For Whip Cream:

• Place metal mixing bowl to standing mixer in freezer for about 10 minutes.
• Pour heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla extract into bowl.
• Using whisk at medium speed for about 3 minutes and then turn the mixer to high speed.
• Continue to mix until stiff peaks are formed.
• Use spatula to scoop the whip cream into a pipping bag.
• I used an Ateco 15 star tip to get the fine swirls in between the jams and along the edges.

Assemble:

• Measure going down the lemon bar, long ways, one-inch increments and use either skewer sticks or chopsticks to use as markers to place across on the lemon bars.
• You’ll need 5 sections, one for each fruit jam and then use a knife the cut off the rest of the lemon bars. The bottom part that you cut off is excess, so eat the rest of the lemon bars as is or pick your favorite jam and load up the fruit jams on it!!
• Use a small spoon to scoop the jams into each of the sections divided out. Start from the top going down – strawberry, orange, pineapple, kiwi, blueberry.

• After the jams are set into place, take off the skewers/chopsticks used as dividers.
• Pipe the lines of whip cream in between the jams (definitely get creative with the whip cream decoration! I loved creating little swirls along the bottom and top edges to make it look like mini rosettes).
• Dice the fresh fruit (strawberries, oranges, pineapple and kiwi) and place them on top. Luckily, the blueberries don’t need to be diced 🙂

• Use a knife to gently cut the lemon bar with fruits on top.
• Remember to store in frig and definitely serve with extra whip cream on top!!

Enjoy!!!