Lime Melting Moment Bars

Yield: Makes 12

These incredibly easy cookie bars use cornflour (cornstarch) to make a wonderfully tender shortbread-style bar that is topped with a lime curd: impressive yet simple. While I would always encourage you to use homemade lime curd for optimal flavour, I will look the other way if you want to use a shop-bought version.

INGREDIENTS

• 225g (8oz/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing, at room temperature 

• 90g (3¼oz/¾ cup) icing (powdered) sugar, plus extra for dusting

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  One Tin Bakes Easy Edd Kimber

• 250g (9oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

• 40g (1½oz/⅓ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

For the Lime Curd

• Zest and juice of 4 limes

• 135g (4¾oz/⅔ cup) caster (superfine) sugar

• 65g (2½oz/4½ tablespoons) unsalted butter, diced

• 3 large eggs

DIRECTIONS

Lightly grease your 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in) baking tin and line with a large single sheet of parchment paper that fully covers both base and sides. 

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and beat until light and creamy, about 5 minutes or so. Add the flour, cornflour and salt and mix until a soft dough forms. Scrape the dough into the prepared tin and spread evenly. Refrigerate for about an hour, until firm.

Meanwhile, place all the lime curd ingredients in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of
a wooden spoon, almost like custard. If you want to ensure you have fully cooked the curd, you can test it with an instant-read or jam thermometer, which should register 75–80ºC (167–176ºF). Take the bowl off the heat and press a sheet of clingfilm (plastic wrap) directly on the surface of the curd. Refrigerate until needed. 

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan) 350ºF, Gas Mark 4. 

When the dough is firm, use the handle of a wooden spoon to make diagonal line impressions across the base of the dough. Alternatively, use your thumb to make divots all across the dough. 

Bake for 15 minutes, then check how the depressions look; if they’ve puffed up, gently press them back into shape. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until golden. Spoon or pipe the curd into the depressions and bake for a further 5 minutes or so, until the curd has set. Leave to cool for 20 minutes, then refrigerate until cold. 

Use the parchment paper to carefully lift the bars from the tin, dust with a little icing sugar and then use a sharp knife to cut into pieces. 

If stored in a sealed container, these bars will keep for about 3 days.

Reprinted with permission from One Tin Bakes Easy. Copyright © 2021 by Edd Kimber. Published by Kyle Books.

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