Early Grey Tea Guava Lemon Bars (Eggless)

During winter break, my family went on a cruise through the Caribbean and we drank guava juice pretty regularly. I’ve been missing the tropical flavors and warm weather so I decided to bring it home! I made these eggless lemon bars with a splash of guava juice and earl grey tea in the shortbread. Earl grey tea is made with black tea that’s been flavored with bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus that has a wonderful aroma similar to a Meyer lemon and sweet limes (mausambi)! I did use Meyer lemon instead of regular lemons in this recipe but feel free to use whichever you have on hand. Meyer lemons just give this recipe an additional aroma and floral flavor that is just lovely! I added Kerns guava nectar to add a tropical feel to the lemon bars.

If they made earl grey tea perfume I would 100% wear it. I love the floral and citrus notes along with the earthiness of the tea! I thought it would pair well with guava and help bring out guava’s floral notes as well! I used one tea bag, which is 1 tsp of tea. Make sure that the tea is finely ground before using it. You don’t want to be picking tea out of your teeth after eating these eggless lemon guava bars! Make sure to dock your dough with a fork before baking so that the shortbread layer doesn’t rise or bubble up too much. 

To make this recipe eggless, I used cornstarch to hold it together. Typically you would use a ton of eggs in this recipe to make lemon curd and then bake it, however, cornstarch does the trick! I was unsure if the texture would be similar but it is! It holds its shape well and has a nice creamy texture! When cooking the slurry be sure to whisk all the ingredients while they’re cold before turning on the heat. This helps prevent any lumps of cornstarch in the mixture. If you do find some lumps, pass the mixture through a strainer before pouring the filling into the baking pan. I like to cook the filling for 2 minutes once it starts thickening up in the pan. You want to continuously stir so it’s a nice smooth mixture. 

To get the perfect slice of eggless guava lemon bars, you want to ideally leave it in the fridge overnight. But I understand if you don’t have the time or patience (because I rarely do too), but keep in mind it’ll be a softer texture if you cut it at around 3 hours. I dusted my bars with pink strawberry powdered sugar, you can find the recipe here. You can definitely use plain powdered sugar if you like. Make sure you dust the eggless guava lemon bars right before serving because the sugar melt as they sit! 

To make these vegan, you can substitute the butter with vegan butter and the heavy cream with coconut cream. Coconut cream will add a coconut flavor but it works well with this bar! If you don’t want to worry about adding coconut flavor, you can use Califia’s non-dairy heavy whip substitute. It’s coconut based but doesn’t have a strong coconut flavor. I used it in this recipe and it worked perfectly! 

To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute the flour with 1:1 pastry flour. I like using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour. 

And last but not least, if you want to make regular old eggless lemon bars, just skip the early grey tea and substitute the guava juice with additional lemon juice! Also, I don’t recommend substituting the sugar with anything else. The amount and sugar is needed in order for the bars to keep their shape!  

If you make these eggless guava lemon bars be sure to tag me on social media @milkandcardamom!

Early Grey Tea Guava Lemon Bars (Eggless)

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• Author: Milk and Cardamom
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

Soft, luscious guava and lemon bars with a earl grey shortbread base. Citrus-y and buttery! Makes one 8×8 pan

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

EARLY GREAY TEA SHORTBREAD CRUST

• 1 cup (121 g) all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (45 g) powdered sugar, unsifted
• 1 tsp (2 g) earl grey tea, fine powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

GUAVA LEMON FILLING

• 1/2 cup (120 g) guava juice (I used Kerns)
• 3 tbsp (39 g) lemon juice (reccomend using Meyer lemon), freshly squeezed and strained
• 1 cup ( 212 g) heavy cream OR coconut cream
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp (225 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 tbsp (40 g) cornstarch
• powdered sugar (optional)

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Instructions

Earl Grey Tea Shortbread Crust

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray.
2. Into a mixing bowl, add 1 cup (121 g) all-purpose flour,1/3 cup (45 g) powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp (2 g) earl grey tea. Whisk well and add in 6 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Use your hands to mix it in until it has a wet sandy texture. You should be able to squeeze some of the dough in your hand and it should hold its shape. Pour the mixture into the prepared 8×8 pan and press into an even layer. If it is getting sticky, wash your hands and come back to it. Freeze the dough for 5 minutes. Use a fork to dock the dough by poking holes into the dough. This prevents the shortbread from bubbling up too much.
3. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Guava Lemon Filling

1. Into a cold nonstick pan add 1/2 cup (120 g) guava juice, 3 tbsp (39 g) lemon juice, 1 cup ( 212 g) heavy cream, 1 cup plus 2 tbsp (225 g) granulated sugar,1/4 tsp salt, and 5 tbsp (40 g) cornstarch. Whisk well until the cornstarch is well incorporated. Turn the heat on to medium-high and whisk continuously until the mixture thickens. You’ll see it go from being opaque to slightly translucent. Once it thickens, cook for another 2 minutes. Pour the mixture over the baked shortbread crust and smooth it into an even layer.
2. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes and then cool on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before refrigerating for at least 3 hours. Ideally, you want to refrigerate it overnight.
3. Cut the bars and dust with powdered sugar before serving!

Notes

• You can substitute the guava juice with additional lemon juice and omit the earl grey tea in the crust to make plain lemon bars. Make sure to use freshly squeezed and strained juice!
• Use gluten-free 1:1 baking flour to make it gluten-free
• Use vegan butter in the shortbread crust to make it vegan

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American, English

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