Tangy Lemon Bars

I’ve wanted to share this recipe for a while as I’m a huge devotee to lemon deserts. Lemon bars, also known as lemon squares, seem to have fallen out of fashion for some reason. Yet when I recently baked them for my friends and neighbours their feedback was “One of your best so far! When are you putting the recipe up?” So here it comes, your wish is my command!

These delicious and VERY lemony squares are basically crunchy shortbread crust with a butter-free lemon curd filling. Think of them as a square, creamy lemon pie cut up. The melt-in-the-mouth lemon curd is wonderfully gooey as opposed to thick and rubbery as with so many other recipes. To achieve this perfectly gooey consistency, timing is of crucial importance.

First of all, to save time, you may be tempted to prepare the lemon curd during the 20 minutes when the shortbread crust is in the oven and then leave it on the counter waiting. Well, DON’T, otherwise sugar and eggs will start reacting with each other. Zest and juice the lemons instead, weigh out the remaining ingredients but don’t combine them until the very last minute. Secondly, bake the cake for only 25 minutes; baking it for longer may result in a slightly rubbery thin layer on top of the curd. (In which case dust it with A LOT of icing sugar, no one will know.😊) Lastly, leave the cake in the fridge for a couple of hours for the filling to set and thicken up slightly before you attempt to cut it. This is the most challenging part I always struggle with, the wait while the whole house still smells of lemons!

In terms of sweetness, you may be thinking that 400g sugar is way too much but you do need it to offset the sourness of both the lemon juice and the rind. Happy baking!

Tangy Lemon Bars

Makes about 16 squares

(square baking tin 23cm x 23cm)

Ingredients

For the shortbread crust:

• 170g plain flour
• 45g icing sugar plus a bit extra for dusting
• 90g unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

For the lemon filling:

• Zest and juice of 4 medium lemons (which is 4 tablespoons of zest and 160 ml of juice)
• 400g caster sugar
• 40g plain flour
• 5 medium eggs, at room temperature

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan/gas mark 4. Cut out two rectangular sheets of baking paper the size which will fit tightly into the inside of your baking tin. Make sure you leave 1 cm extra on the edges so that you are able to lift the cake out of the tin easily. (See photo above.) Grease the baking tin with a little butter and line it with the baking paper sheets remembering to apply the butter between them.
2. Prepare the shortbread dough – place the flour and icing sugar in a medium bowl and mix well. Add the butter followed by the vanilla extract. Using your finger tips rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it’s just combined, resembles breadcrumbs and clumps together when squeezed.
3. Tip the loose dough into the baking tin and with your hands squash it down flat to create a crust. To prevent the lemon filling from leaking underneath the crust you need to bring the dough up the sides of the tin to create an edge which will act like a barrier. Simply mould it with your fingers by pushing the dough upwards around the sides. Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly even and looks a bit on the rustic side. As long as it is minimum 3 ½ cm high it’ll hold the lemon filling safely. (See photo below.) This part is a bit fiddly but don’t be tempted to skip it; I did once and learned my lesson the hard way! Prick the dough gently with a fork to stop if from puffing up when baking. Bake for 20 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the bottom turns pale yellow. Set aside to cool.

4. While the crust is cooling prepare the filling –first zest and juice the lemons. Don’t use more than 160 ml of juice even if you end up with some extra as it may make the lemon curd filling too runny.
5. In a large bowl combine the sugar and lemon zest and mix with your fingers until the sugar turns pale yellow. Tip in the flour and mix well again.
6. Pour in the juice, followed by the eggs and whisk with a hand whisk for about half a minute until all ingredients are just combined. (Don’t overmix it, you don’t want to incorporate too much air and risk the filling to puff up and then collapse.) Carefully pour the filling onto the crust (yes, it’s runny!) and bake for 25 minutes. The lemon curd should be evenly set and resemble jelly, and the crust should turn light brown. Leave the cake in a tin to cool completely, then remove and keep in the fridge for a couple of hours for the filling to thicken up. Cut into squares and enjoy.

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