Bring back the slice, I say- because this classic sweet treat is seriously underrated! A delight to serve to guests, perfect for lunchboxes & ravenous-teenager afternoon teas, lemon slice is an all-round winner.
Easy to make and even easier to eat, the intense yet perfectly balanced flavours in this lemon slice simply melt in your mouth. Even better, this slice recipe makes *a lot* and freezes well, so if you like to have all sorts of home-made food on hand (like I do), then this is one that will please you.
Here’s How to Make It
First things first- at least an hour before you’re ready to start baking, put the eggs and the butter out on the bench to let them come to room temperature. Line a baking tray with baking paper, zest 2 lemons then juice enough lemons to yield one cup of lemon juice (the latter should use about 4 lemons).
Cream the butter and sugar until a light, fluffy consistency is achieved and the colour has lightened. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt, then mix this in to the butter a little at a time.
Gradually mix all the flour in until well blended. Press this dough in to the base of your lined baking tray. Preheat the oven. Chill for half an hour, then bake as directed.
While the baked base is cooling, make the filling. Whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together in a bowl. Note that the colour will lose intensity once baked, so add a couple of drops of food colouring if you’d like the filling to retain a yellow colour (I didn’t).
Lastly, add the flour. Mix it in a little at a time. The filling mixture is quite liquid, so I find a simple hand whisk is the best implement to use for this. Carefully pour the filling over the base, then bake for 25-30 minutes on 170C. Once cooked, leave in the tray to cool on a wire rack. Once cool, dust the top with icing sugar and serve.
Lemon Slice
Equipment
- 1 mixmaster or electric hand beaters
- 1 Oven
- 1 baking tray
- 1 wire cooling rack
- baking paper
- 1 large mixing bowl
Ingredients
Base
- 250 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 2 cups plain flour
- small pinch salt
Filling
- 6 extra large eggs at room temperature
- 3 cups caster sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup plain flour
- icing sugar for dusting the top
- 2 drops yellow food colouring optional
Instructions
- First, start making the base. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with the electric mixer.
- Combine the flour and salt, then slowly add this to the butter mixture until just combined.
- Press this dough into the base of a lined baking tray and smooth it out. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 170C (350F).
- Bake the base for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Leave to cool on a wire cooling rack. Leave the oven on.
- Make the filling. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest & lemon juice.
- Next, mix the flour in slowly, a little at a time.
- Pour this mixture over the base. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set.
- Remove from oven & leave in the tray. Sit the tray on the cooling rack until it cools to room temperature.
- Dust with icing sugar then cut into squares or triangles for serving.
