Sticky Lemon Slice

Last week my boss kindly gave me and my co-workers a huge bag of lemons from her tree.

So naturally I went straight to The Great New Zealand Baking Book to see what I could bake over the weekend, and I chose this sticky lemon slice. It’s tangy, sweet and totally delicious! Recipe below.

And in case you want to check out other lemon recipes:

Lemon & Raspberry Curd Krümmeltorte Slice

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Fudge Slice (no-bake!)

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. Line the bottom of a Swiss roll tin (32 cm x 21 cm) with non-stick baking paper.

Beat the softened butter and the icing sugar until light in colour (creamed).

Add the flour and beat until the mixture starts to form a ball.

Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and press flat. If the mixture is sticky, keep your fingers dusted with plain flour.

Bake the base for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

While the base is cooling, make the topping. Beat the sugar and the eggs.

Add the flour, baking powder, lemon zest and lemon juice (recipe calls for 90ml, this is about about 3 lemons’ worth of juice, depends on their size). Mix together.

Pour the mixture on top of the base.

Return to the oven and bake for a further 35 minutes, or until golden in colour and firmish to the touch.

Cool in the tin, then dust with icing sugar.

Cut into squares (my squares have irregular edges because I cut them while they were still a bit warm). Once completely cool, store in an airtight container.

Sticky Lemon Slice

Makes: about 28 squares | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 45-50 mins | Skill level: 1 (easy)

Ingredients

Base

225 g unsalted butter, softened
70 g icing sugar
275 g plain flour

Topping

400 g granulated sugar
4 medium-sized (size 6) free-range eggs, beaten together
4 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
90 ml lemon juice, strained
icing sugar, for dusting

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. Line the bottom of a non-stick Swiss roll tin (32 cm x 21 cm) with baking paper.

Put butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until whipped, then add icing sugar and process until light in colour (creamed). Sprinkle flour over and process until the mixture starts to form a ball. Tip into prepared tin and press flat. If the mixture is sticky, keep your fingers dusted with plain flour. Bake base for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

While the base is cooling, make the topping. Tip sugar into the bowl of the food processor and pour egg in. Process for 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, then sprinkle flour and baking powder over, and add the lemon zest and juice. Mix together with a large spoon.

Pour mixture on top of the base (it will fill the tin), then return to the oven and bake for a further 30–35 minutes, or until golden in colour and firmish to the touch. Cool in the tin, then dust with icing sugar and cut into squares. Transfer to an airtight container when cool.