Recipe below! Cream cheese is the real secret behind these lemon squares - they lend richness but also a tang that enhances the tart lemon. It also gives the lemon filling structure, so that it doesn’t leak into or underneath the shortbread base. SEE BELOW for sugar-free modifications!
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Makes 1 8-inch (20 cm) square pan
Cuts into 25 or 36 squares
The squares can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 days.
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• Ingredients •
Base:
1 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (115 g)cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Filling:
4 oz (120 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (37 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
½ tsp baking powder
½ cup (125 mL) lemon juice
4 large eggs
Icing sugar for dusting, optional
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• Directions •
1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180 C). Grease and line an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper so that the paper comes up the sides.
2. To prepare the base, pulse the flour and sugar in a mini chopper or food processor to combine. Add the butter and pulse it until the mixture is an even crumbly texture, but the dough should not comes together. Press this into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the base turns golden around the edges. Prepare the filling while the crust cools.
4. In a mixer, or by hand, beat the cream cheese with about half of the sugar until smooth. Add the remaining sugar, flour, lemon zest and baking powder and blend until smooth (switch to a whisk if combining by hand). Add the lemon juice and eggs and combine until smooth. Pour the filling over the cooled crust.
5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges are set and just show signs of soufflé-ing a little, but the centre should still have a bit of a jiggle to it. Cool the squares to room temperature before chilling for at least 3 hours before dusting with icing sugar and slicing.
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• Sugar-Free Modifications •
Please note that these points relate only to recipe feasibility.
Monkfruit Sugar (blended with erythritol)
- Use 1:1 by weight or volume in place of sugar, both in crust and filling
- Omit baking powder
- Bake time remains the same
- Crust is slightly crispier than with sugar
Stevia 1:1 Baking Blend
- Use 1:1 by volume (not by weight) in place of sugar, both in crust and filling
- Omit baking powder and lemon zest
- Reduce bake time of filling to 20-25 minutes
- Volume of filling is reduced
Agave Syrup
- Use 1:1 by volume in filling, but use stevia baking blend or monkfruit sugar in base
- Omit baking baking powder
- Increase bake time to 45 minutes