Dreamy Lemon Slice

I’ve made this a Lemon Slice a few times now – we have a tree bursting with lemons to be used.  It’s absolutely delicious and very easy to make.  I’ve made this to share with my colleagues and made some for Simon and Harry (our flatmate) to take to work and everyone loves it.  In fact, I met up with a friend for lunch the other day and he paid for lunch so that I would owe him more Lemon Slice as pay back!  It’s soooo good!

Ingredients:
350g packet plain biscuits, crushed (use what you like – I found Farmbake White Chocolate Chip biscuits to be the best though!)
150g margarine or butter, melted
3 eggs
395g can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup lemon juice (approx. 3 lemons)
¼ cup desiccated coconut

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180˚C.  Grease and line a 20 x 20cm square baking dish.
Mix the biscuits and melted butter together.  Press the biscuit mixture into the prepared tin.
Separate the eggs, keeping the yolk.  Add the yolks to the condensed milk and mix until combined.  Add the lemon juice and mix again.  Pour over the biscuit base and bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until set.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.  Sprinkle the desiccated coconut over the top of the slice.  Refrigerate for at least an hour before cutting into squares and serving.

*If you thought this was really easy (because it is) try outDirk’s Lemon Meringue Pie, which just has an extra step added onto the end and uses up the egg whites.

When life gives you lemons…

It’s that time of year when Lemon trees around New Zealand are producing lots of yummy fruit.  Sure, you could make lemonade or a gin and tonic, but I say when life gives you lemons GET BAKING!  Why not try out one of these delish recipes:

Dirk's Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon meringue pies look tricky.  Trust me, they're not.  So simple in fact, that this is now quite often our go to dessert to make if we are in a rush and off to someone’s house for dinner.

Lemon Bars

These are super yummy.  This is a fave recipe which I really need to get around to making and photographing again as this picture doesn’t do it justice.

Lemon Loaf

Again, this is another beautiful recipe that I need to remake and photograph as the picture is rubbish.  Trust me, the loaf it not :)

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

These are delicious and impressive.  Fill them with your own home made Lemon Curd to really be fancy.

Lemon Poppyseed Cake  and Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

I love the texture that the poppy seeds give to these two recipes.  The cupcakes are particularly divine – really moist and a nice flavour.

Lemon Tart

This lemon tart is just beautiful.  If you really want to go for gold, you can make your own short crust pastry too (however, store bought stuff will work just as well).

Lemon Tea Muffins

How cute are these?  They are almost too darling to eat.  Almost.

Lemon Whoopie Pies

So far, this is my fave whoopie pie recipe.  They have a lovely lemon flavour, but it is not too overpowering.

Sour Cream Lemon Cake

This cake is beautifully moist.  Who could resist tucking into that with a side or cream or yoghurt?

Here’s a couple of recipes to help you add a little something special to your baking:

Lemon Curd

Candied Lemon Peel

Hopefully that gives you a few ideas on how to use your lemons up :)

Lemon Bars

Ok, so I dealt with those lemons I had sitting around and I ended up with yummy lemon slice.  Win!

For the base:
170g butter
¾ cup icing sugar
1 ½ cups flour

For the topping:
55g melted butter
200g caster sugar
15g flour
3 lemons
3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 180˚C and lightly grease or line a 20 x 20cm tin with baking paper.  Finely grate the zest of two lemons and juice all three.
Combine the base ingredients in a food processor, or rub the butter into the dry ingredients and work into a smooth paste with your fingers.  Press the dough evenly into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until it is just beginning to go golden (Do not over cook as it will be going back into the oven later on).
Mix the topping ingredients in a bowl until well combined.  If you make the topping mixture in advance make sure you give it another stir before you pour it as the sugar settles at the bottom of the bowl. 
Pour the mixture onto the hot biscuit base and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.  Rotate the tray after 15 minutes.

 
Remove the tray from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool in the tin.
Once cool, dust the top with icing sugar or drizzle with melted chocolate.  Cut into squares or wedges.  Store in an airtight container, preferably in the fridge.