Marbled Chocolate Lemon Bars; tender cocoa shortbread topped with a creamy and refreshing baked lemon custard and a swirl of rich dark chocolate.
If you’ve ever stopped by this corner of the internet before, you may have heard me singing praises of the (still vastly underrated) combination of lemon and chocolate.
If you haven’t, allow me to happily repeat myself. Lemon and chocolate, especially a smooth dark chocolate, is a match made in sensory heaven.
An ingredient so rich and all-encompassing, paired with an ingredient so sharp and refreshing, is one that my palate just can’t get enough of. In a layer cake, in a frosted loaf, in brownies, in ANYTHING.
Prefer to watch rather than read? Check out this recipe on my YouTube channel!
These marbled chocolate lemon bars are a page stapled on to my never-ending love letter to this flavour combination. Also, this week they served as a delicious and cooling antidote to the ever-increasing aggression of Italian summer sunshine.
Tender, cocoa-rich, buttery chocolate shortbread. A smooth and creamy baked custard, fragranced with lemon zest and spiked with its juice. A swirl of bold dark chocolate and a sprinkling of sea salt.
This is a simple, stunning summer dessert that touches every taste bud. Sweetness from condensed milk, sourness from the citrus fruit, savouriness from sea salt, gentle bitterness from the bold chocolate. Somehow satisfyingly creamy and refreshingly light at the same time, in every mouthful. Oh, and the textures??
It’s everything that we love about classic lemon bars, in all their buttery lemonyness, made bolder. Just a few spoonfuls of cocoa powder in the shortbread, and a delicate dollop (or four) of dark chocolate make a world of difference. (Speaking of switching up flavours, I’d strongly encourage trying these out as chocolate orange bars too – swap the 3 lemons for 2 oranges and thank me later!)
As with most delicious homemade desserts, you’ll need a little bit of patience while these beauties bake. However, they are a fairly simple and straightforward treat to make, even if you don’t know your way around a kitchen that much. The base’s shortbread is a simple one, needing no precise stamping or shaping, and just five ingredients. Plus, the custard almost makes itself once you’ve whisked everything together!
These marbled chocolate lemon bars are a perfect snack to have up your sleeve (though perhaps not literally) this season. They’re an ideal cold straight-from-the-fridge treat for those warm sticky afternoons. You’ll find they keep well for up to four days when chilled too, making them great for packing to take with you to work or school. Otherwise, they’d be very welcome at any BBQ or dinner party, as a perfectly satisfying but light dessert.
I hope you love these citrussy, summery little stunners as much as we have!
Want to save these marbled chocolate lemon bars for later? You can pin the image below!
To make these marble chocolate lemon bars, simply follow the recipe below:
Ingredients
For the chocolate biscuit base:
- 185g (1 ½ cups) plain or ’00’ flour
- 40g (¼ cup) cocoa powder
- 175g (11 ½ tbsp) cold salted butter, cut into cubes
- 75g (⅓ cup) caster or granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
For the lemon custard and chocolate marble:
- 4 large egg yolks
- 397g (1 ½ cups) tin of sweetened condensed milk
- Zest and juice of 3 lemons
- 60g (2 oz) milk or dark chocolate, melted
- Pinch of salt to finish (optional)
Instructions
For the chocolate biscuit base:
- First, preheat your oven – 180°C / 160°C fan / 350°F / gas mark 4.
- Line a reasonably deep 30 x 20cm (12 x 8in) rectangular baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Measure your flour, cocoa, and sugar into a large bowl and add your cubed butter.
- Rub the butter into the flour and sugar until it resembles dark chunky breadcrumbs (you can do this by hand or with a food processor).
- Use either your fingers or the back of a spoon to press this mixture down well into your baking tray, it should press into a flat sheet of shortbread dough. (If you feel the mixture is too crumbly, add a little water to help it stick together!)
- Bake the shortbread for 30-40 minutes until it looks dry on top and feels firm to touch.
For the lemon custard and chocolate marble:
- Place your egg yolks in a large bowl (you can save the whites for omelettes or a meringue topping!) and whisk vigorously by hand or with an electric whisk for about a minute to lighten them.
- Add the whole tin of condensed milk and whisk for a further 2 minutes.
- Zest and juice the lemons into the bowl and whisk for another 2 minutes to ensure the filling is lovely and airy.
- Pour this mousse-like mixture onto the cooling shortbread.
- Drizzle over your melted chocolate and use the tip of a butter knife to swirl and marble it gently into the lemon mixture.
- Place into the oven – at 160°C / 140°C fan / 325°F / gas mark 3 – to bake for a final 15 minutes.
- By this stage the custard should be set or just have the SLIGHTEST wobble, so remove it from the oven and allow it to cool.
- Chill the cooled marbled chocolate lemon bars in the fridge for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.
- Enjoy!
BE A MAVERICK: why not swap the lemon zest and juice for orange instead? Simply use 2 oranges in place of the 3 lemons in the recipe!
These marbled chocolate lemon bars will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days but are best enjoyed fresh!
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