Lemon bars should always be done with a raspberry swirl, using pureed raspberries. Period. The citrus from the lemon and the tart raspberry swirl make these Raspberry Swirl Lemon Bars insanely delicious. It's the perfect lemon treat, just like 2 Ingredient Lemon Bars and Lemon Possets.
If you have a hankering for lemon bars, and also a bunch of leftover raspberries that don't have much life left - make these Raspberry Swirl Lemon Bars! For the swirl, you can use raspberry jam, cooked or pureed berries. You can also make a small amount of corn starch jam.
Keep in mind that the bars are around 1 inch in height once cooled off, about 2 inches after baking. So they do settle a bit.
If you love of lemon desserts like I am, be sure to also try Easy Lemon Blueberry Cake and Blueberry Butter Swim Biscuits with Lemon Glaze.
Why you'll love Raspberry Swirl Lemon Bars
Perfect ration of crust to filling: The crisp shortbread crust is absolutely the perfect cookie bar base for the zesty tart topping. The ratio of crust to filling is super important because don't you hate eating lemon bars that are too dry and have more crust than lemon custard filling?
Raspberry Lemon contrast is yum! When you make a raspberry dessert you're also usually adding sugar and this can make the berries taste sort of one dimensional and sweet depending on how tart they were to begin with. Lemon prevents this problem and adds a broader taste dimension. The luscious raspberry lemon filling will leaves you wanting more. These things are simply addictive!
Or if you want the lemon raspberry flavor with a cake format, my Lemon Raspberry Cake is the answer - same flavor combination.
Main Ingredients
- Salted Butter - To keep things simple I use salted butter to make the crust. If you only have unsalted butter, add about ¼ teaspoon of salt to the crust mixture.
- Granulated Sugar - I think these Raspberry Swirl Lemon bars have just the right amount of sweetness, but you can either increase or decrease the amount of sugar by a couple of teaspoons based on your preferences.
- All-purpose flour - Used in both crust and lemon layer.
- Lemon Juice & Zest - together with flour these are the building blocks for the lemon filling
- Eggs - I highly recommend using large eggs.
- Raspberries - Fresh raspberries only.
- Corn starch - The ingredient that will thicken both raspberry puree.
How to make Swirled Raspberry Lemon Bars
If you'd like a full walkthrough before you bake, start with my How to Make Perfect Lemon Bars Guide and Lemon Bar Troubleshooting Guide first.
1. Make the Bottom Layer
- Cut the butter into approximately 8 squares and add to a medium mixing bowl. Add the flour and powdered sugar.
- Using a pastry blender, combine ingredients until they form a fine powder
- Lightly press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. Make and pour lemon filling
- Sift the flour into a medium-sized bowl and grate the lemon zest on top of the flour.
- Add the eggs, lemon juice, and sugar. Mix at medium speed with a hand mixer, combining all ingredients.
- Once thoroughly combined, pour the lemon filling over the slightly cooled crust and proceed with making the raspberry swirl.
3 Make raspberry puree
Combine the raspberries, cornstarch, hot water, and granulated sugar in a food processor until well blended. You can also use a blender for this step. If you prefer no seeds in your bars, you can strain the raspberry mixture through a fine sieve and cheesecloth to remove them.
4. Add raspberry puree over lemon filling
Drop the raspberry mixture by spoonfuls over the lemon filling. Using a knife, gently swirl the raspberry into the lemon. If you want more intense contrast between the colors, less is more for this step!
5. Bake
- Place the bars in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. At this point in the baking process, they may still be runny in the middle. To prevent excessive browning, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top.
- Continue baking for 7-12 minutes or until the middle is almost set. The bars are perfectly done when there is still a little bit of "jiggle" in the middle.
If something still feels off after baking, my Lemon Bar Troubleshooting Guide goes through every common problem with clear fixes.
6. Chill and cut
Remove the bars from the oven and allow them to cool completely before storing them in the refrigerator. It's best to wait to cut these until they have been in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
If you're new to dessert bars, you'll love my step‑by‑step tutorial How to Make Cookie Bars (and Other Easy Dessert Bars) that talks about pan sizes, bake times, and mix‑in ideas.
Swirled Raspberry Lemon Bars
CLICK on STARS to REVIEW the RECIPE, then CLICK OK
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Lemon Filling
- ½ cup sifted flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 eggs (room temperature
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
Raspberry Swirl
- ¼ cup fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon warm water
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the butter into approximately 8 squares and add to a medium mixing bowl. Add the flour and powdered sugar.
- Using a pastry blender, combine ingredients until they form a fine powder and there are no large remaining chunks of butter.
- Apply cooking spray to an 8 x 8" glass pan. After applying the spray, place a strip of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan for an easy way to remove and cut the bars from the pan after cooking.
- Lightly press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow the crust to cool for approximately 10 minutes prior to adding the lemon filling.
Lemon Filling
- Sift the flour into a medium-sized bowl and grate the lemon zest on top of the flour.
- Add the eggs, lemon juice, and sugar. Mix at medium speed with a hand mixer, combining all ingredients.
- Once thoroughly combined, pour the lemon filling over the slightly cooled crust and proceed with making the raspberry swirl.
Raspberry Swirl
- Combine the raspberries, cornstarch, hot water, and granulated sugar in a food processor until well blended. You can alternately use a blender for this step.
- If you prefer no seeds in your bars, you can strain the raspberry mixture through a fine sieve and cheesecloth to remove them.
- Drop the raspberry mixture by spoonfuls over the lemon filling. Using a knife, gently swirl the raspberry into the lemon. If you want more intense contrast between the colors, less is more for this step!
Bake
- Place the bars in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. At this point in the baking process, they may still be runny in the middle. To prevent excessive browning, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top.
- Continue baking for 7-12 minutes or until the middle is almost set. The bars are perfectly done when there is still a little bit of "jiggle" in the middle.
- Remove the bars from the oven and allow them to cool completely before storing them in the refrigerator. It's best to wait to cut these until they have been in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- Sprinkle with a dusting of powdered sugar right before serving and enjoy!
- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, but I'm willing to bet they won't last that long!
Tips for success
- Use small drops of raspberry puree: If you want more intense contrast between the colors, less is more.
- Eggs at room temperature mix more evenly into batter and will give a lighter and fluffier texture.
- There should be a slight jiggle in the middle when the bars are done baking. They will continue baking for several minutes after you remove them from the oven and if you wait too long, they will be too done.
- Chill, then slice: Make sure you wait until raspberry swirl lemon bars are completely cooled to cut or your lemon filling will ooze. Resist the temptation to slice too early on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to thaw frozen raspberries before adding them?
Nope! Simply pull from the freezer, combine with the other ingredients, and add to the bars.
How thin/thick raspberry puree should be?
The puree should be thick enough to cling to and coat a spoon. It is denser than the lemon mixture, but I've found that once you add a small amount around the surface, then swirl, it won't sink to the bottom.
Can you use a hand mixer to combine the crust ingredients?
Yes, a hand mixer will work for combining the crust ingredients but thanks to the powdered sugar, might be a bit messier than using a pastry blender.
Can you use bottled lemon juice instead of a lemon for this recipe
Yes. Use the same amount of juice and skip the lemon zest if you don't have any fresh lemons.
My lemon raspberry bars are runny in the middle
Put tinfoil on top and bake it for another 15-20 minutes. Once they cool down and had been in the fridge over night, they will be perfect.
Learn more tricks on extracting the best lemon flavor out of anything in How to Get Big Lemon Flavor in Desserts.
Substitutions and variations
Drizzle a tiny bit of white chocolate over the tops of the bars after they had cooled because instead of powdered sugar if you love the combo of raspberry and white chocolate.
Storage and leftovers
Store Swirled Raspberry Lemon Bars in an airtight container in a single layer refrigerated for up to 5 days, but I'm willing to bet they won't last in the fridge that long!
More raspberry desserts
- Raspberry Mousse Brownies
- Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
- Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Dama says
Really good texture on top of the bars. Lemon is perfect here and makes raspberries taste even better and fresher.
Mollu says
The swirls with lemon flavor are unbelievably good! You do have to watch and it took me longer to bake them. About extra ten months
Olya says
Yes - 10 minutes, sometimes even longer.