Luscious Lemon and Raspberry Bars

Citrus, lemon, squidgy, moreish, great with an Espresso or a strong cuppa

Here is a recipe from my baby sister, Dalia. These lemon bars always get rave reviews. They are light, lemony and really delicious. 

 

Yield

24-30 bars

Preparation time

40mins

Ingredients

125 g (4½ oz) gluten-free flour
125 g (4½ oz) ground almonds
50 g (2 oz) icing sugar
200 g (7 oz) cold unsalted butter diced
4 eggs
400 g (13 oz) caster sugar
75 ml (3 fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 small lemons)
25 g (1 oz) gluten-free flour
½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
Icing sugar, to dust
Fresh or frozen raspberries (optional)

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 180° centigrade or Gas mark 4.

  • To make the base, combine the flour, ground almonds and icing sugar in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture using your fingertips to make a soft dough. You can use a food processor to do this but use the pulse button sparingly and be careful not to overmix the dough or it will go greasy
  • Press the dough into the bottom of a 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 in) cake tin as evenly as possible but try not to overwork the dough. If you use a smaller or larger tin, remember you may need to adjust your baking times accordingly.
  • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pastry is lightly golden.

In the meantime, prepare the topping.

  • Beat the eggs, sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl. Stir in the flour and baking powder. When the base is ready, remove from the oven and leave it to cool for a few minutes. If you are using raspberries, dot them on the base and then pour the lemon mixture on top.
  • Bake for a further 25 minutes or until the filling is just set. Leave to cool in the pan for several hours before dusting with icing sugar and cutting into bars .

Notes

The lemon bars can be kept in the fridge for several days or can be frozen.