Lovely Lemon Bars

Coursework handed in. Packing done for the holidays. Hanging out with my friends for the first time in what feels like an eternity... what to do? BAKE.

I made these lemon bars with my American pal and hadn't heard of them before but they are going to become a staple. They are really simple to make but completely scrumptious. They don't look too great, but trust me, they're a little slice of heaven.

Preheat your oven to 180c

For the crust: first cut up 65g of butter

Next add 115g of sugar

Then 150g of flour

And a small pinch of salt.

Cream it together as much as possible. It won't be smooth like a cake mix though so don't worry if it stays a little clumpy.

Next smoosh it into a baking tray with your fingertips (preferably one with a loose base and perhaps lined with baking parchment so that the crust doesn't get stuck in the bowl like mine eugh. The waste.)

Now place it in your preheated oven to bake for 16 minutes.

While that's cooking away (and filling your house with the warm, sweet smell of sugar and butter baking and bubbling away), get started on the topping.

For the topping: place two eggs in a mixing bowl (I used a saucepan because I am averse to washing up).

Then add 170g sugar

Next add the rind of a washed lemon and all of its juice,
(this photo makes me cringe.. but food wins over manicures any day)

And 3 tablespoons of plain flour (which I forgot to photograph, as always)

And whisk away until smooth.

When the crust has been in for its 16 mins, take it out and pour on your topping.

Fling, (yes fling) it back in the oven for about 18 mins.

Take it out, (ohhh look at the butter bubbling. Not sure how I should feel about that but I know how I do feel. Excited and really impatient.)

 Sprinkle on some icing sugar (for last ditch attempt to make lemon bars presentable),

And cut...

As I said I should have used a different pan as this didn't come out easily at all and so, isn't particularly photogenic. I was going to re-do the photos but really I couldn't hold off on posting about this because I wanted to share this delicious, decadent yet refreshing little treat.


You can serve hot or cold (we couldn't wait and dove straight in) and I would encourage serving with ice-cream.

MAKES 4 SLICES

INGREDIENTS

Crust

• 65g unsalted butter
• 115g granulated or caster sugar
• 150g plain flour
• pinch of salt

Filling

• 2 large eggs
• 170g caster sugar
• 1 lemon (rind and juice)
• 3 tablespoons plain flour

Final touches

• sprinkle of icing sugar
• ice cream, to serve