Sometimes I’m lucky and I can finalise a recipe within three attempts at it.  And sometimes it takes a little longer, and this recipe is one of those.

I knew what I wanted … a really crisp and tasty base that won’t go soft in the fridge over a few days with the curd sitting on top of it.  I also wanted a curd that would hold its shape and not “balloon” out whilst it sits on top of the base once portioned and plated.  I also wanted something that I felt was really lemony, so that it deserved to be called a “Lemon Curd Slice”.

Luckily I have wonderful neighbours who are happy for me to share my attempts before settling on a recipe! With my household now down to just the two of us (hubby and me!), I can’t always rely on the kids to be here to help eat my various baking attempts.

You will need to make this slice a day before you plan to serve it … it needs time in the fridge to completely set before cutting, and once portioned it will keep in the fridge for at least five days (it has been eaten in our home by then and the base was still lovely and firm, although very slightly softer than on day one!).

The base is very firm so when portioning you will need a sharp knife.  I like to cut the slice in sections, doing half the slice first so that it is easier for me to get nice even pieces.  Once I have cut the whole slice, I keep it in two containers in the fridge ready to go, and only dust with icing sugar the portions I am actually serving at the time.

You will note that the base is cooked at a low temperature for 50 minutes which is quite a long time … I have done this to ensure it cooks all the way through so that it will stay firm whilst it sits in the fridge with the curd on top of it. I used a shortbread base, adapting a recipe I use for shortbread to ensure that I get the firmness I needed. Then I used gelatin in the curd topping to help it set firm enough to cut and hold its shape once portioned.  To help with the “setting” of the curd, I decided to bake it at a very low temperature for 20 minutes and it was perfect each time.

I cut this slice into 24 portions, but it can be divided up any way you like.

You will usually get approximately 50g to 60g juice from a good lemon, so zest as many lemons as you need to get the total of 180g lemon juice for this recipe.

Lemon Curd Slice

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour 10 mins

Total time

1 hour 25 mins

 

Author: Gina @ The Passionate Pantry

Serves: 24 pieces

Ingredients

BASE

• 200g raw caster sugar, or plain caster sugar
• 50g cornflour
• 50g desiccated coconut
• 200g white spelt flour, or plain white flour
• 200g butter, room temperature, cubed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes, or ½ fine sea salt
  
  

LEMON CURD

• 3 to 4 lemons, zest and juice (zest as many lemons as you need for juice required)
• 200g raw sugar, or plain sugar
  
  
• 180g lemon juice
• 6 x 60g eggs, room temperature
  
  
• 2 tbls room temperature water
• 2 level tsp gelatin powder
  
  
• 225g butter, room temperature, cubed

Instructions

METHOD – BASE

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees, fan forced, and place rack into middle of oven
2. Line 20cm x 30cm slice tin with baking paper making sure that there is an overhang to assist with removing slice once it is cold
3. Place base ingredients into TM bowl and mix 10 seconds / speed 6
4. Place mixture into slice tin and use the side of a large metal spoon to cut into the mix spreading it out to the corners of the tin
5. Then use the back of the spoon to press down on the mix to level the top and create a nice even layer
6. Place tin into oven and bake 25 minutes, turn tray around and bake for a further 25 minutes until a light golden colour
7. Remove from oven and put aside
8. Reduce oven temperature to 80 degrees, fan forced, and commence filling
   
   

METHOD – FILLING

1. Add lemon zest and sugar to TM bowl and mill 10 seconds / speed 10
2. Scrape around bowl
3. Add lemon juice and eggs and cook 10 minutes / 85 / speed 3
4. NB: for a TM31 cook 8 minutes / 80 / speed 3, then 2 minutes / 90 / speed 3
5. While this is happening, place water for the gelatin in a small container and sprinkle over the gelatin powder, put aside until needed in the next step (whilst it is sitting the powder will be absorbed by the water into a solid mass)
6. Once filling has cooked for 10 minutes, scrape around bowl, add the softened gelatin and butter and blend 20 seconds / reverse / speed 3, scrape around bowl and repeat 10 seconds / reverse / speed 3 (I use reverse to minimise creating bubbles in the mix)
7. Pour filling onto the cooked base and level with a back of the spoon
8. Place tray back into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, turn tray around and continue for a further 10 minutes … the curd should look set around the edges with a slight jiggle towards the middle
9. Remove from oven and place onto bench top to cool to room temperature which will take at least two hours
10. Once completely cool, cover and place into the fridge overnight
11. Next day remove slice from the fridge, if there is any condensation on top of the slice, gently place kitchen paper on top of the slice and lightly run your fingers over the top to soak up the condensation (this can happen if the slice was still a little warm when you put it into the fridge)
12. Use the overhanging baking paper to help remove slice from tin and place onto a cutting board
13. You can now also use a metal slide to help lift the slice off the baking paper (I like to do this before cutting)
14. Portion into desired pieces (I make 24 pieces), and store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to five days
15. Dust with a little icing sugar before serving

Notes

You will need to make this slice a day before you plan to serve it ... it needs time in the fridge to completely set before cutting, and once portioned it will keep in the fridge for at least five days.

The base is very firm so when portioning you will need a sharp knife. I like to cut the slice in sections, doing half the slice first so that it is easier for me to get nice even pieces. Once I have cut the whole slice, I keep it in two containers in the fridge ready to go, and only dust with icing sugar the portions I am actually serving at the time.

I cut this slice into 24 portions, but it can be divided up any way you like.

You will usually get approximately 50g to 60g juice from a lemon, so zest as many lemons as you need to get the total of 180g lemon juice for this recipe

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