They say “Never judge a book by it’s cover”.

I did.

We have The Book People at work, they come in from time to time and leave us books to peruse and buy. I saw this book…. and to be honest, I thought it looked a bit naff. A lot of the baking books available all have similar recipes in, but as I flicked through… I had to change my mind.

This recipe in particular caught my eye, and as I saw some fresh figs in the greengrocers….. I decided to use our Above and Beyond bake sale a few weeks ago as an ideal opportunity to bake it!

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Lemon Squares Recipe– taken from Easy Cakes and Cookies

Ingredients

Base layer

100g (3/4) cup plain flour

35g  (1/4 cup) icing sugar

75g (5 tbsp) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

Lemon layer

3 large eggs

275g (1 3/4 cups) granulated sugar

finely grated zest of a lemon – note: I actually used zest of all the lemons juiced so that it was extra lemony.

150ml (2/3 cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice, from approximately 3-4 lemons

50g (1/3 cup) plain flour

1-2 figs, very thinly sliced (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

Line an 18cm/ 7 inch square pan (note: in the book it says use a couple of strips of paper underneath the lining paper, so that it’s easier to lift out later…. it didn’t work all that well!) with baking paper.

Put the flour, sugar, and butter in a food processor (all a large bowl and and electric whisk), and process until it resembles breadcrumbs. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and press down firmly to make an even layer. Prick all over with a fork.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove, and then reduce the temperature to 150C/300F.

To make the lemon layer, put the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl and whisk for a minute or so until light and fluffy:

With the beaters going, gradually pour in the lemon juice, then tip in the flour and mix to combine.

Pour the mixture over the baked base. Bake for 45 minutes, by which the lemon layer will be set, and the top slightly crusty. Leave to cool completely.

Alas. The bits of paper flipped over the surface while it was in the oven. They also didn’t do a very good job at helping me to lift it out of the tin… so I wouldn’t bother next time.

I sliced it into squares….

…and it looked a little bit messier then… hey ho, topped off with slices of fig:

…and a dusting of icing sugar…

…and who would know! 😉

Tastewise, they were sort of like a fluffier version of the lemony stuff from Lemon Meringue Pie, and then minus the meringue of course, but everyone seemed to like them.