Luscious Lemon Slices
Move over, Nigella, I’ve already declared my new baking goddess to be our own Aussie Belinda Jeffery, and in trying yet another recipe from this book, she hasn’t let me down!
I’ve explained before that my sister is a lemon/citrus freak, and absolutely adores my lemon tart. While I enjoy making it for her, the overnight resting and general fiddliness of the recipe means that I don’t make it for her very often, so I have been on the lookout for something which would pack a puckery lemon punch without the prep time. When I saw these golden lemon slices, topped with waxy jade pistachio pieces in Belinda Jeffery’s “Mix & Bake“, I knew that I had to give them a go. And since my sister is currently stressing in the throes of exam preparations, what better way to bring her some comfort than with a tasty treat?
I didn’t have the correct size tin for baking these, but no matter, they still turned out marvellously! Delicious shortbread-like base topped by meltingly soft slightly puckery lemon, with a thin layer of meringue crowned by pistachios.
If you’re a lemon slice fan, I guarantee these will rock your casbah if you give ‘em a shot 
Luscious Lemon Slice
(From “Mix & Bake” by Belinda Jeffery)
Base Ingredients
225g all-purpose flour
80g pure icing sugar, sifted
180g cold unsalted butter
Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp iced water
Lemon Topping Ingredients
6 large eggs
600g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 unwaxed lemons
250mL freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Icing sugar, chopped pistachios or fresh berries and cream to serve
LEMONY TIPS:
Much of the fruit sold in supermarkets tends to have waxed skins, particularly citrus, so you should be careful to source your citrus from organic supermarkets or friendly neighbours/workmates whenever possible, especially if a recipe calls for the use of zest. Alternatively, if you can’t get your hands on unwaxed citrus, try using natural citrus extract.
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C and butter then line a 32 x 24 x 5cm baking tin with non-stick baking paper (the paper makes removal of the delicate slice easy, and the butter helps the paper to stay in place till it’s ready to be baked).
2. To make the base: put the flour, icing sugar and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse. Add the butter and pulse till mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then add the vanilla extract and iced water till the pastry forms a ball. Remove from the processor and press evenly into the lined tin, making sure to get it into the corners.
3. Bake the base for about 15-20 minutes, or till the edges have gone golden and the pastry has dried a fair bit and firmed up.
4. While the pastry is baking, use a balloon whisk to lightly beat together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest and juice. Sift the flour over the top and whisk it in till the mixture is smooth.
5. Once the base is cooked, remove from the oven and set aside for about 5-10 minutes to cool and drop the oven temperature to 150 degrees C (the warmer the pastry, the more apt it will be to absorb the egg mixture and go cakey and soggy). Once the base has sufficiently cooled, briefly whisk the egg mixture and pour over the base.
6. Carefully return to the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, or till the topping has set. Once baked, remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
If serving immediately, slice using a knife with a hot blade (stand in a glass of bowling water then dry), dust with a light sprinkling of icing sugar and top with chopped pistachios or fresh berries and cream.
If not serving straight away, cover tin tightly with cling film and keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. Bring back to room temperature before serving, and decorate with icing sugar and nuts or berries.
Make sure the slice has sufficiently cooled before slicing up, and clean between slices if you don’t want raggedy pieces like mine!
Technorati Tags: Belinda Jeffery, citrus, lemon slice, pistachio, crochet, amigurumi
For those who requested photos of what I’ve been making - here are two of my most recent creations and one work in progress! The teddy heads are mobile/cell phone danglies, the pink is made with a DK 3ply yarn and 3mm hook, the blue is made with a baby 4ply yarn and a 2.5mm hook. The red heart is being made with a 5ply crochet cotton and a 2.5mm hook 
What can I say? I like making cute miniature things!
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
I love anything and everything with citrus, and your Lemon Slices look delicious! Will definitely be trying them.
oh my. those look so unbelievably lemony–i love the vibrant color! i believe my old stand-by lemon bar recipe is about to be replaced!
these lemon slices look like the ones at Starbucks, though I’m sure yours taste WAY better. your crochet project is cute! I think they call it "amigurumi" here.
I was trying to decide what next to make from the Mix and Bake book. I am now definitely going to try the lemon slice. I’m really glad you talked about that book being your favourite and I went and bought it. I’ve made so many things from it and they’ve all been good or great.
The crochets look really good too.
They look luscious! I love the contrast of the cool green pistachios against the warm yellos. Fab pictures!
that shortbread like bottom looks fantastic!! gorgeous slice. lovely colour, especially with the pistachios. oh i do love lemon.
that, a cup of iced tea, a book on a blanket in the park sounds perfect!
This looks so delicious! Wow wow! A must make! I am bookmarking the recipe right away! Thank you for sharing!
Truly, I’ve never seen such a gorgeous and appealing lemon bar. I’m printint out the recipe now and they will be my next treat.
I love that the topping is butter-free! I love lemon bars but so many recipes have a ton of butter in the crust and filling. I can substitute margarine for crust but it doesn’t work well for fillings. I have to give this recipe a try. The pistachios are a gorgeous touch!
Gorgeous pictures! The lemon bars look so good they’ve started my Pavlovian reaction and I’m salivating all over my keyboard! Your little crochet dangly things as so goshdarned cute! I wish I knew how to do that…is it easy?
I’ve already mentioned I have feelings for Belinda, which have now grown since looking at these luscious slices. I’m off to the bookstore. Wonder if I could find her at book signing, though I’d be blushing like a ruby grapefruit!
Your lemon squares look delicious! I’m not a huge lemon person but I could go for one of those right now!
Ohhhhh I am a citrus nut too! (And vinegar/tom yum etc *salivates*)
I am a teacher, and you know that old cliché of giving the teacher an apple? I’m not joking - my kids give me LEMONS!
I am making this as soon as a click ’submit’ - thanks for the inspiration!
Just looking at these has added pound to my hips! If I made them I fear I’d eat every single one before my family even knew I made them!
OK, so I made them last night… (I don’t mess around when it comes to lemon!)
The kitchen is still a huge mess (I am such a clumsy baker) but it was worth it! Soooo lemony. It’s like having little squares of perfectly tangy lemon tart.
My scales went a little whacky so they didn’t quite set as perfect as yours so I didn’t take them to work as planned…. so now I have a whole container of them in the fridge… I can’t stop going back for one more!
Highly recommend if you’re a sukkah for lemon like me! Thanks Ellie!
Damn being an American and having no idea what all of your measurements mean, because those look sooooooooo good!!!!!!!
That first picture is actually to die for. I keep having to scroll back up to look at it, and… rjkgnkg <3. I also kind of wish I was your sister. All my sister gave me by way of help with exams was a dirty look when I asked her to turn her music down so I could revise.
I am SO going to make these lemon slices and not offer her any XD.
Luscious is definitely the word I’d use to describe these. Very bright and summery, love the colors :). Your little creations are quite adorable as well :D.
Just wanted to let you know that I nominated your blog for an award on my blog this evening :). Congrats!
I tried making these, they are yummy - but they are upside down! I don’t get it 
I tried making them twice, and I let the base cool down for a longer period the 2nd time around … but for some reason, the gooey lemon topping ends up at the bottom of the pan, and the flour base on top!
so tell me.. porquoi? the connection of photography, art and cooking ? everyon that cooks does pictures or some other art.. me included? mhhh?
your food seems delicious!!
Yum and yum. That book is one of my favourite baking books and like you said, it never lets me down. I haven’t tried making those lemon slices yet, but everytime I flip through the book, the picture always jumps out at me. Just like your photos have done also!
Hi!
I was so impressed by the photos of your lemon slice i had to give it a go. So I did and the freakiest thing happened to it!
I followed the recipe as it is written and when the slice came out from the oven it looked like it had turned itself UPSIDE DOWN!!!! 
I know this is the land Down Under but our baked goods are not supposed to turn upside down! Or are they????
Anyway I placed the slice in the fridge so I can get a better idea what it looked like when everything had set properly and sure enough the base had somehow floated to the top and the top had completely sunk to the bottom! I had to flip the slice to get it looking right!
I re-read the recipe to make sure it wasn’t an upside down lemon slice i was actually making without realising!
What do you think happened to my slice? I was thinking maybe that the base was not cooked enough but when i took it out of the oven it was firm to the touch and slightly golden. I had let it cool sufficiently before pouring the topping.
I am going to try to make it again to see what happens the second time.
Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!
P/S It tasted delicious even with its gravity defying handicap! Thanks for the recipe!!
Thanks for posting the recipe kitchenwench. I have the book Mix and Bake (it is the best baking book ever) but wanted to send recipe to a friend as I had taken some to her for dessert the other day (so sent yr link!).
I found that I needed more than 2 tsps of water to bind the base. I also cut back on the sugar in the topping (600g is way too sweet for me!).
Boryeong, I can’t imagine why your slice went upside down!! Oven to cool maybe? Just guessing 
Oops sorry re the upside down comment - that was for Baking freak-show.
And I forgot to say, Kitchenwench, I like your photography. Very inspiring!
I’m Haley, Key Ingredient’s Chief Blogger. We would like to feature this recipe and photo on our blog. We realize it is taken from another source, but we’ll be sure to note that…we just feel you’ve done a great job putting this meal together! Please email haleyglasco@gmail.com if interested. Thanks
Haley
Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments
@ Big Momma Pimpalishisness: Many converters on the internet
@ Sophie: Thanks for the award hon
@ Hui: Not sure why they’d turn upside down if you followed instructions, but I suspect you did not put together the base properly and didn’t press it down into the container. It’s basically like baking a shortbread cookie.
@ Helen P: Thanks Helen
i would like to nominate you to be my bro’s future wife! better yet, can i just marry you?! hahaha. i just found your website and can i tell you….you are sooo awesome. i’m a major foodies so i soo know how to appreciate all your yummy works! thanks soo much for making a site w/ delicious korean food that’s easy to follow. i can’t wait to try out all your recipes! YUM!
@ jane: LOL! Well, I’m glad the site makes you so happy, but I’m not sure how your brother would feel about you proposing for him, hehehe 
I hope you enjoy the recipes that you try
Those are just the cutest cell phone dangly thingies I have every seen!!! I wish I had one 
I wish I could make one actually. Not to even mention your lemon slices. I ate dinner about an hour ago and here I am drooling all over again 
The lemon squares look quite yummy and real enough for grabs! Thanks for the recipe and the tips, quite helpful. I think I found your blog quite interesting and worth visiting more often.
@ Collywolly: Hehehe, they’re very easy, just make a crochet ball and stick some ears on
@ Must Be That Girl: Glad you enjoyed your time here
Don’t mean to sound ignorant, but is there anyway to translate the measurements into American measurements? For instance, how much is 180g of butter?? Also what is "caster sugar"?? Appreciate any help, as I would love to try making these!!
I think I could be very happy with raggedy! Those are so lush!