Lemon slice bars

Ok first things first, heres the sound track:

Barbara Mills – Queen of fools

Now, if everyones suitable entertained musically i'll begin.  This recipe was born out of a longing for a lemon tart whilst simeltaneously rendered hungoverly inable to produce pastry. 

These are perfect for afternoon tea, chill out Sundays, picnic Saturdays or gift wrapped for a friends birthday.  Make a batch and graze on them all week if they last that long…

Ingredients
(makes loads)
For the Base
225g unsalted butter, softened
55g caster sugar
240g plain flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Lemon Topping
6 large eggs
240g caster sugar
zest from 6 small lemons
juice from those lemons aprox 230ml 
120g plain flour
icing sugar, to dust

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 4).
Grease and line with non-stick baking paper a 30 x 20cm tin. Allow the baking paper to overhang the sides of the tin for easy removal (you don’t want boiling hot lemon filling all over your hands when you remove it from the tin).
For the base, cream together the butter and the sugar until light.
Add the flour and salt and mix until well combined.
Tip the dough into your prepared baking tin and press it evenly into the tin then chill for 10 minutes to relax the gluten in the flour.
After 10 minutes bake the base for around 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow to cool (leave it in the tin) and get ready to make the topping. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C (gas mark 2/3).
Combine the eggs and sugar into a large bowl and mix well for at least 5 minutes until they are billowing and mousse like.

Add the zest. Add the flour and lemon juice alternating to make sure the lemon juice doesnt curdle the mix.

Give it a final mix to make sure there are no lumps 
Pour the filling on top of the base and bake for around 25 – 30 minutes or until it is light brown and the filling is just set.  It should still be wobbly in the middle.
Allow to cool completely.
Remove from the tin by lifting the overhanging baking parchment.
Cut into Mackam sized portions and liberally dust with icing sugar.
Store in an airtight container for 1 week.