Tangy Lemon Squares

I baked a tray of lemon squares in the weekend for my daughter to bring to her friend's place for their little girls' gathering. She requested me to bake something for her to share with her friends, so both of us browsed through the bookmarked recipe pages in my iPad  and this is the one she has chosen 'cos she loves tangy, lemony stuff. 

And so I went in the kitchen making these lemon squares and singing "Yellow Lemon Tree"  in my head...

....I wonder how

I wonder why

Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky

And all that I can see, and all that I can see, and all that I can see

Is just a yellow lemon-tree"

We managed to have a piece each before I packed them into a lunch box for the gathering. They are tangy and refreshing with nice lemon scent. One thing I will do next time baking this is to press the crust to make it a firmer base. This was a bit too soft and crumby, thus messy to eat unless you eat the whole piece in one mouth :). But overall, my daughter likes it and has put in request to make it for her again.

The recipe is adapted from Dodol Mochi:

Lemon Squares

(For 7x7-inch square baking tray)

• 113g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 25g icing sugar
• 140g plain flour
• a pinch of salt
• 150g sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 80ml fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• 25g plain flour
• icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

Methods:

1. Grease the baking tray and preheat oven to 170 degree C.
2. Sift together 140g flour and salt, set aside

For the shortbread base:

1. Cream butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy, fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula till just incorporated, do not over-mix it else the shortbread will be hard.
2. Spread the dough onto the bottom of the greased baking tray evenly, press the dough slightly so that the base will be firm when baked.
3. Bake at 170C for 20 minutes or till lightly browned.

For the lemon curd layer (can be done while the shortbread is baking in the oven):

1. Beat 150g sugar and eggs together till smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and the remaining flour. Combine them well.

To assemble:

1. When the shortbread is well-baked, remove the tray from the oven and pour the lemon curd mixture over the hot shortbread.
2. Bake further at 170 degree C for another 20 minutes or till the filling is set. I took Pei-Lin’s advice not to overcook it and was monitoring the oven closely.
3. Once the filling is set, remove the tray from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
4. Cut it into equal-sized small squares and dust with icing sugar (if using).

Yum! (X3)