Vegan Lemon Sponge Bars

These vegan lemon sponge bars are super duper easy to bake and make you look like you’re a fancy ass chef. You can make a simpler version without the vegan chocolate, using the vegan lemon curd topping and they still taste great.

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Lemon Sponge Bars

Course Cake, Citrus, Summer

Keyword lemon, vegan, vegan baking, vegan cake

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 27 minutes

Servings 10 Bars

Ingredients

SIEVE

• 180 g plain flour
• 20 g corn flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ tsp salt

BEAT


• 60 g vegan butter cubed at room temp
• 60 g veggie shortening at room temp
• 120 g powdered sugar / icing sugar
• 1 tbs vanilla bean paste
• ½ tsp almond essence/flavouring

MIX

• 300 ml soy milk at room temp 

• 2 tbs white vinegar

INGREDIENTS FOR THE PERFECT LEMON CURD TOPPING


• 45 g vegan butter
• 40 g good quality chickpea flour make sure it isn’t grainy or just use corn flour
• 130 ml lemon juice
• 60 ml water

• 65 g white sugar
• ½ tsp Vanilla bean extract
• pinch of salt



DARK CHOCOLATE BASE

• 300 g high quality vegan dark chocolate

Instructions

SPONGE BARS 


• Pre-heat oven to 160C/320F (fanforced oven) and very lightly grease a silicone* rectangle muffin tin.

• Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, on a low speed beat butter and shortening together.until combined, add sieved sugar + vanilla + almond essence and beat until light and fluffy. Don’t over beat. 

• In a large bowl sieve remaining dry ingredients together, mix well and set aside.

• In another bowl mix milk and vinegar together until milk thickens slightly. 

• Dividing flour and milk into thirds, slowly add flour then milk to butter in thirds, on low speed until just combined, don't over mix.
• Spoon mixture into your muffin tray, don't overfill as they will rise, fill just over half way.

• Put into oven for 27- 30 mins or until skewer comes out clean.
• Leave in silicon tray as you are going to pour lemon curd over the top and let set. It will come our the same shape as the bars.



LEMON CURD GLAZE


• Melt butter in small saucepan.
• Take off heat and mix in chickpea flour to form a paste.
• Return to medium heat and add remaining ingredients and continue to stir until sugar has dissolved and curd thickens.
• Take off heat and pour gently over the top of each cake bar and tap tray on bench to even out curd. Let it completely set. 

• Once set, gently push out of tray, you may need to cut around the edges of the curd to help it separate. Set bars aside and clean trays ready for chocolate.

CHOCOLATE BASE


• Temper your chocolate and pour into the bottom of muffin trays, let completely set.
 See link in notes for how to temper chocolate.
• Push chocolate bases out of tray.

• To assemble, simply place lemon bars on top of chocolate base. See in notes below on how to make chocolate shards.

Notes

*If you don't have a silicone tray, you can use a tin muffin tray and pour the lemon curd over the top once the sponge is removed from the tray. You can temper chocolate onto a cool surface and just before it's almost set, cut into the shape of your bars with a hot knife. 

HOW TO TEMPER CHOCOLATE 
You can make this without the chocolate for an easier version. 

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE SHARDS

This recipe was featured in Vegan Food & Living Mag UK January 2019
and on the cover of Vegetarian Living Magazine New Zealand Autumn 2019

DID YOU MAKE THIS BECAUSE YOUR NON VEGAN FRIENDS ARE COMING OVER AND YOU WANT THEM TO RELEASE EVERYTHING TASTES BETTER VEGAN?? ME TOO! 
Tag @veganbakesbysarakidd on Instagram and hashtag it #veganbakesbysarakidd so we can convert all our non vegan friends together…..