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Sugar Cookie Bars
Margaux Laskey, “American Girl Cookies”
5453 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
5,453
40 minutes, plus cooling
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Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with nonstick spray, then line the pan with parchment paper. Lightly coat the parchment paper with nonstick spray.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, use your hands to rub together the sugar and lemon zest.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the butter and oil to the bowl with the lemon sugar, and transfer it to the mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream the mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. With the mixer running, add the lemon juice in a slow, steady stream and mix until well combined, 1 minute more. Scrape the bowl well.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed until each is incorporated before adding the next, about 1 to 2 minutes each. Scrape the bowl well every two to three additions.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until fully incorporated. With the mixer running on low speed, add the buttermilk in a slow, steady stream, and mix until fully incorporated. Add the remaining flour and mix until it’s evenly incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Transfer to the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 27 to 32 minutes. Cool completely.
While the cake cools, make the frosting: In a medium bowl, mash the raspberries with a potato masher or large fork until broken down. Stir in ½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar, and let macerate for 10 to 15 minutes.
Strain the raspberry mixture. (You should have at least ¾ cup/180 milliliters juice. Reserve any excess for cocktails, stir it into sparkling water, or drizzle over ice cream.)
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream and the remaining ¼ cup/50 grams granulated sugar on medium speed until the mixture reaches soft peaks, about 1 to 2 minutes.
With the mixer still running on medium speed, pour the raspberry juice into the mixer in a slow, steady stream. (Reduce splattering by pouring away from the moving whisk.) Continue to whip until the mixture forms peaks, about 30 seconds to 1 minute more.
Spoon the frosting over the cooled cake and spread into an even layer. If desired, garnish with lemon zest and sprinkles.
The sugar can definitely be dropped down from 2 cups. This cake is extremely sweet. On my second try, I used 1 cup of sugar and a 1/2 cup of lemon juice. This was much better, more like a pink lemonade that the recipe is emulating.
Whipped cream frostings hold up better and can be kept overnight, if you add a small amount (about 1/2 teaspoon) of unflavored gelatin dissolved in 1 tablespoon water. Add this mixture to the cream as you're whipping it. This works very well since it keeps the cream from separating.
I cut the cake into two layers after cooling and spread the raspberry seeds in the middle for a filling
After I read the notes, I made a few adjustments. I included the juice of all 3 lemons, added 1/2 cup yogurt for moisture, reduced the sugar to 1 1/2 cups & increased the baking powder to 1 1/2 T. I ended up with a light, flavorful cake. Absolutely delicious.
Lots of steps but this was delicious. Rich cake. I made it as cupcakes and the batter yielded 18 cupcakes plus a thin 8” square cake that I cut into a heart shape. So cute with the pink icing. Rubbing the lemon zest and sugar together really does make a difference.
I am going to tinker with this recipe. I followed it to a T and the cake tasted really good but was dense and had a texture that reminded me of a short cake biscuit. The frosting however was fabulous. Be sure to add the raspberry just after soft peaks form. (Though didn’t add quite as much sugar to raspberries because they were already sweet.) I think that this cake would be better on a jelly roll or cut into two layers with raspberry frosting and a raspberry jam kind of like a Victoria sponge.
works beautifully as a bundt, baked at 350 for 55 minutes to one hour. served with a generous dollop of whipped cream.
I find nothing wrong with the cake batter. Here’s the trick: measure in grams! Seriously. Since measuring in grams I find that every single time it amounts to less flour then if I were to measure in cups. Second trick: always bake your cakes at least 24hrs in advance before assembling and frosting. I bake this as two round cakes and fill the middle with lemon curd and the macerated raspberries. This amps the lemon flavor, and the tartness complements the sweet components.
Sugar is hygroscopic -- it promotes moistness in baked goods. It also causes the proteins in the flour and eggs to form weaker bonds, creating a more tender, softer crumb. If you don't follow the recipe and arbitrarily reduce the amount of sugar called for, you're going to get a dense, dry cake.
You can make a buttermilk substitute: Add 1 tsp or white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk then let it set for five minutes.
This is so pretty! Would love to know why some folks gave it fewer than 5 stars. Is it not tasty?
The frosting was terrific. I was disappointed at how dense and heavy the cake was. I followed the directions exactly, so I don't think it's anything I did. This is called a sheet-cake, but it's baked in a regular cake pan. Maybe it would have been better baked on a jelly roll pan? The lemon flavor was nice.
From an inexperienced baker: The icing held together and was fabulous. We kept it in the fridge and iced the cake just before serving. The cake, while light and very high-rising, was disappointingly dry. I think I baked it too long, maybe 40 or so minutes because the toothpick kept coming out wet. Also, 5 tbsp lemon zest took about 10 (admittedly small) lemons and made it a little too tart. But I loved the texture and flavors so will try again, sticking to posted times and less zesty...
I also needed to cook this cake for 45+ minutes in my convection oven. The crust became beautifully golden brown but with hard corners, like brownie corners. I used blackberries instead of raspberries and it worked very well with the lemon! I wish I would have doubled the whipped topping because the cake turned out very thick (reminds me of a 2 layer cake) with not enough whipped topping. But the flavor is spot on...will try as cupcakes next to control the size of the cake to topping ratio.
I cheated with the cake and used cake mix that I added lemon juice and zest into, but the whipped cream and the combination of raspberry and lemon is excellent. Wondering if anyone has suggestions on creative uses for the raspberry pulp?
Is the intent that the cake remains in the pan? In the south sheet cakes are often served in their 9 x 13 baking pan, but the photo above shows the cake removed from the pan. Would be nice to have this clarified.
i had high hopes for this cake, but I was really disappointed in the end. i measured everything in grams - & it was all going well throughout the baking process. but it turned out horribly dense. the flavor was great, but the texture was so offputting.
The cake wasn't overly sweet, but I did not make the buttercream frosting; rather, I made a raspberry icing/glaze using the same raspberry maceration method, straining and then mixing with only powdered sugar. It was excellent and tasted exactly like pink lemonade! The cake was slightly dry, I would definitely recommend adding some greek yogurt. Also, this works well using non-dairy vegan butter and non-dairy buttermilk (lemon juice + almond milk).
cut the sugar in both the cake & frosting by half! this recipe does not need nearly as much sugar as it uses. when you cut down the sugar, you let the cake's flavors & natural sweetness shine. also -- skimp on (or substitute part of) the buttermilk. with less sugar, the buttermilk flavor can overwhelm.
This did not work out for me. It was so dry and dense even the addition of the whip cream could not save it. I thought I followed all the directions properly. I did follow some notes for a little less sugar and more lemon juice, but it isn’t even that lemony. I ended up using pieces of the cake in a trifle which I threw together last minute to make something for dessert. I hope it doesn’t suck all the moisture out of the lemon custard I put on top.
1/2 for 5x6 pan
Followed recipe ingredients exactly. Separated the egg whites, whipped them to soft peaks then folded them into the batter. Cake came out perfect. Great balance of lemon, sweet and tart.
I followed the recipe exactly and wound up with a cake whose flavor and texture do not reflect all the detail involved. In other words, it's not worth the effort. A simple lemon sponge would have been better. The raspberry whipped cream, however, is to die for.
It is a bit dense. More like a pound cake. The whipped cream frosting is great.
Juice of all 3 lemons 1/2 cup yogurt 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
I followed this recipe as written but baked it as three layers for 30 minutes, and sandwiched them with lemon curd and raspberry jam before frosting. It was wonderful, not dry, not too sweet at all, a good dense tender yellow cake with a bit of nice extra moisture from the delicate whipped cream frosting. I want to try layering it with other fruits and cream.
Delicious cake. I have made it twice now. Both times the cake was more pound cake like than fluffy. That could just be user error on my part. Do follow the advice of others and save the seeds to put on the cake! My cake was a bit dense and that was a bright note that played well.
The bake time is way off on this. My skewer came out without residue but I had raw cake in the middle after 37 minutes. This needs to be revised up.
Since we are heading into spring 2023, can summer (and raspberries) be far behind? I'd add some of that raspberry pulp to simple syrup and let it steep a while, then strain for rosy and tasty cocktails ahead. Could steep a portion of them in some vinegar, even just enough for that night's salad.
The recipe looked great…but mine did not tuen out well. The cake was really dry. The frosting was tasty. Will not make again…need a better lemon cake recipe.
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