Gluten-Free Lemon Squares

A few years ago, during a trip to the Kruger National Park, my friend Lydia brought along some uber yummy low carb lemon bars. She ordered these from a super talented lady so I was sadly not able to squeeze (lemon pun intended!) the recipe out of her. I have been thinking about & craving those yummy bars a lot ever since & when I found some ginormous lemons at the greengrocer last week, it was a done deal: I was going to head home & make some Lemony Squares. I actually prefer to call them bites because even though they are gluten-free (& potentially carb clever – not sure), they are still packed with calories so a small bite will probably satisfy your craving. So, you have the choice of cutting them into 16 bars or 20 bites.

This recipe is also a great one to make ahead because it needs to be refrigerated overnight.  Try them for your next tea time. Your guests will jump for joy!

Gluten-Free Lemon Squares, makes 16-20 

Crust

90ml (6 Tbsp) Butter

2 Cups Almond Flour

1/3 Cup Xylitol

1 Tbsp Freshly Grated Lemon Zest

Lemon Curd Filling

6 Egg Yolks, at room temperature

125ml Honey

1/3 Cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

2 Tbsp Water

1 Tsp Lemon Zest

¼ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

½ Cup Cold Butter, cubed

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 20x20cm pan with butter & line with baking paper.
2. For the crust: Pop the butter into the microwave & melt.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients until a dough forms. You can also use your food processor here, but I do it by hand.
4. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan.
5. Put in the oven & bake the crust at 180°C for 8 – 10 minutes until golden. Remove & cool while you make the filling.
6. Lower the temperature of your oven to 150°C, with the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
7. For the filling: Place a heat-proof bowl over a pot of gently simmering (not boiling) water. Whisk together the egg yolks, honey, lemon juice & zest, water & vanilla extract until well blended.
8. Slowly add the cubes of butter (2-3 at a time), constantly whisking, until all the butter is mixed in.
9. Now bring your mixture to a gentle simmer. Once it starts to simmer, cook for 15-18 minutes, stirring every now & then until it thickens. You want a custard-like consistency. It is important to cook the lemon curd until it’s very thick or it won’t set properly.
10. Place the filling in the refrigerator to cool down. Once it is cool to touch (not cold), add it to the crust & spread it out evenly.  Try not to eat too many spoonfuls at this point. (a BIG challenge for me!)
11. Bake at 150°C for 15-20 minutes, until your filling begins to set. Remove from oven & allow to cool.
12. Refrigerate for 3 hours (or overnight) before cutting into 20 bites. As I said: you can also cut them a bit bigger to get only 16 if you prefer, but they’re super rich as I said so smaller might be better.

Pure lemony deliciousness!

Yolandi ♥

Ps. This Guide To Swopping Sweetners is quite handy.