Lime Bars

I think I've restrained my need to bake for too long as this week has been a flurry of baking activity, especially considering I haven't baked anything notable for months. Indeed I don't think I've baked more than twice in one week since Christmas. My living room is once again littered with many of my recipe books, which last year was a permanent fixture; a soothing sight for eyes that feel sore from looking at food labels, calorie counts and woefully staring down at a glass of protein shake.

Anyways, for reasons unknown, I had several limes stuck in the back of one of the vegetable drawers of the fridge so I decided to make lime bars. This is a buttery, melting biscuit base, not unlike shortbread, topped with a squidgy, but set, sharp and citrus-y curd. If you search for 'lime bars', you're likely to get recipes for key lime pie, and even then they'll be in american measures. I've always found it curious that for a nation of limeys, the lime seems to be largely the culinary property of the U.S, at least when it comes to cakes etc. Anyways, the point of this is, I just found a recipe for lemon bars from The Humming Bird Bakery Cookbook and switched the lemon for lime.

Lime Bars

For the base:

290g plain flour

70g icing sugar

pinch of salt

230g unsalted butter

2 tsp grated lime (or lemon) zest

For the lemon/lime curd top:

210g caster sugar

3 eggs

100ml lime/lemon juice

3 tsp grated lime/lemon zest

Preheat the over and line a brownie pan (that's at least 5 cm deep) with greaseproof paper

To make the base-

Put the all of the ingredients for the base in a processor/mixer (or do it the old fashioned way if you skipped the gym in the morning) and mix until it resembles breadcrumbs. Press the dough together in your hands and then press into the lined tin. (If you're lucky the unpressed mix will have a random cat head shape, such as below)

Once pressed, you'll have this:

Bake the base for 20 minutes or so until lightly golden and then remove from the oven (leave the oven on) and allow to cool slightly.

Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a balloon whisk. Pour this mix over the biscuit base and then (carefully) return to the oven for another 20 minutes, until the topping has set.

Once baked, remove, allow to cool in the tin and then place in the fridge overnight so it sets completely (will make slicing easier). Dust with icing sugar if the whim takes you.

I haven't baked this for me, but I couldn't send an untested pan of zesty yum to any of my acquaintances in good conscience, which is why an end of this is missing.

Quality control approved.

I forgot to tap the pan on the countertop before I put it in the oven, which is why I think there are bubble marks on the surface. Still doesn't distract from the taste and nothing that a little icing sugar won't distract from.