Heather's Lemon Squares

These lemon squares are inspired by a recipe I discovered almost 15 years ago from a bakery in London that went ‘viral’ for their lemon cakes. Combining the fresh, zestiness of the lemon with a subtle hint of marzipan, really grounds the bright lemon flavour. The making of the cake is quite simple, the process to finish it is a bit more elaborate, but it really gets that beautiful lemon flavour into every mouthful.

I’ve actually made these (pictured) using gluten free flour and dairy free margarine, but it works just as well with self raising flour and butter.

6oz margarine

6oz caster sugar

3 eggs

6oz gluten free self raising flour.

Lemon curd (if you have it)

3 lemons

200g icing sugar

250g marzipan (approx.)

Pre-heat your oven to 180fan/gas 6.

Grease and line an 8” square cake tin.

Beat well together the margarine, caster sugar and zest of 3 lemons until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Slowly add in the flour, mixing slowly to keep in the air in the mixture.

Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth out so that the top is flat. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cake is springy to the touch. Leave to cool until its cool enough for you to handle.

When cake is still warm, carefully remove from the tin and turn upside down onto a cooling rack. Cut the lemons used for the zest in half and squeeze out the juice. Brush half of the lemon juice across the bottom of the cake and leave the cake to cool completely and the lemon juice to soak in.

Mix the remaining lemon juice with the water icing to form a thick but still runny icing.

Turn the cake right side up. Spread a thick layer of lemon curd across the top, but not so thick it spill down the sides (you can leave this step out if you don’t like lemon curd or you don’t have any to hand).

Roll out the marzipan so that it will cover the top of the cake. Place this gently over the lemon curd layer and press gently into place. Cut off any excess from the edges.

Cut the cakes into squares (usually I cut the 8” square into 9 pieces). Then drizzle the lemon icing across the top of the marzipan so that it drips down the sides.