With sweet and tangy flavour and crispy, buttery base, these lemon curd slices are a perfect treat for any citrus fans out there. Bring some winter sunshine to your kitchen with these delicious squares!
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Tips for making this recipe 💭
After my homemade lemon curd, it is time for lemon curd slices! This easy bake makes a great use of the curd, and creates these beautifully bright, sweet and buttery slices exploding with fresh citrus flavour!
When making this recipe, I would recommend to make the curd a day before, or at a start of the recipe. If you are making it a day ahead, bring it to the room temperature before using it, and whisk it well to loosen it up.
If your curd is really thick, you may want to place it into microwave for about 20- 30 seconds, and that should thin it out.
As for the shortcrust base, it requires only 3 ingredients to make: butter, sugar and flour. You can combine them using an electric mixer, but it is equally easy to do this by hand.
This mixture will have to be pressed firmly into the baking tin. To do that, I recommend using a back of the measuring cup or the back of a spoon. Compressing the shortcrust helps to ensure it all stays in one piece when slicing.
Base/ crust needs to be pre-baked, to ensure the bottom of the lemon curd slices won't end up soggy and under-baked. There is a handy trick to ensure the surface of your crust stays smooth and without any bumps. Once it's baked, gently press it again with a back of a measuring cup or a spoon, before pouring in the lemon curd filling.
Baking time ⏲️
The slices will bake for about 20 minutes. You know they are done when the sides are gently puffed up and the center of the bake wobbles when you shake it gently. If it is watery or wet looking, return it to the oven and bake for another 5- 10 minutes.
When to slice the bars 🔪
Once baked, remove them from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature, for about an hour.
After that, transfer them to the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight. This time will allow the lemon curd filling to set and to ensure the slices will hold their shape when cut.
When they are fully chilled, lift the bake from the pan using overhang baking paper. Gently peel away the paper from the sides. Use a sharp, large knife to cut them into squares (or whatever shape you want really). To achieve that clean cut, run the knife under hot water and wipe it clean between each cut.
How to store lemon curd slices
Store them in the air tight container in your fridge. They will keep well for up to 4 days.
More delicious citrus recipes:
For a gluten-free version of this recipe, I recommend checking out this post by Bojon Gourmet, which inspired today's post.
As always, thanks for reading today's post. If you try this, or any other of my recipes, leave me a comment and a rating below. I love hearing from you guys!
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Curd Slices
Equipment
- 8' x 8' square baking tin
- baking parchment
- mixing bowl
- electric mixer (optional)
Ingredients
For the base:
- 170 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 70 g caster sugar
- 200 g plain flour
For the filling:
- 4 medium lemons zest and juice
- 200 g caster sugar
- 120 g unsalted butter cubed
- 3 large eggs plus one extra egg yolk
- 2 Tbsp icing sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175C (160C fan). Lightly grease 8 x 8 square baking tin and line it with baking paper, leaving plenty of overhang (it will help with removing the bars later from the tin).
- Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, beat together for about 2 minutes until combined. Add the flour and mix on low speed until just combined. Transfer the mixture into the baking tin, and press firmly (you can use a back of a spoon or measuring cup too) with your hands. Place in the oven and bake for 15- 18 minutes until pale golden. Remove from the oven and set aside. If the surface of the shortcrust base becomes a bit uneven and 'bubbly' after baking, gently press it with the bottom of a measuring cup or a back of the spoon, while it is still warm, to even the surface out. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C (150C fan).
- While the base is baking, prepare the lemon curd. Place the heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Add strained lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and butter. Stir often, until all the butter have melted. Lightly beat the eggs and an extra egg yolk in a jug, then slowly pour it into the mixture, stirring continuously. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thicker and covers the back of the spoon (about 5-10 minutes). Remove from the heat.
- Pour the lemon curd over pre-baked shortcrust base and place in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges just start to bubble and the middle of the bake still has a gentle wobble to it (like a firm jello). Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely, then transfer to the fridge for at least a couple of hours, or ideally, overnight.
- Once cold and set, remove the bake from the tin by gently lifting it by overhang baking paper. Carefully peel away the baking paper, then slice it into 16 squares, using sharp, large knife. For a clean and precise cut, run the knife under hot water and wipe it clean between each cut. Dust the bars with icing sugar (optional), decorate with some extra lemon slices if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
- For the detailed instructions and troubleshooting lemon curd, read this post
- If the edges of the bake become really bubbly after baking, simply trim the away before slicing the rest of the bake into squares.
- Make sure to allow the bake to cool. The filling need time to set and firm up properly. If you try cutting it too early, it will spill and become messy.
Nutrition
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