Lemon and coconut squares

So I asked M if I should bake biscuits, cupcakes or a traybake. He said traybake, excellent I thought, I  had wanted to try out blondies with pecans and peanut butter chips. Alas he did not really want nuts and thought that brownies made with white chocolate would be too sickly sweet.

So back to the drawing board. He then said he remembered something from his childhood. A lemon coconut square thing. He remembered it had lemon and coconut and that it was really nice.

So working on limited information I tweaked a lemon square recipe, adding coconut to the biscuity base. Upon eating them they were declared yummy but not like the ones from his youth. These, in fact, we have worked out seem to have a 15 (digestive, marshmallow, coconut and condensed milk) base topped with more of a lemon icing, not a baked curd. I will never make these as 15s are so excruciatingly sweet that it hurts, and with more sugary icing on top I think I would have a hyperglycaemic attack! And so I am afraid it is my lemon coconut hybrid that will have to be put up with. And yes I do see the irony that he will eat the sugar fests of his youth but not a white chocolate brownie. Mind you he has said he is willing to be proved wrong.

The recipe below produces lovely lemon squares, the curd is definitely lemony enough, and the coconut adds a welcome different dimension to the shortbread style base.

Lemon Coconut squares


For the base:


230g plain flour
85g icing sugar
160g butter
100g dessicated coconut


For the topping:


3 lemons
4 large eggs
400g caster sugar
50g plain flour


Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan and line the sides and base of your tin with baking parchment. A brownie pan is the perfect size.


Put the base ingredients into a food processor and whiz until it forms fine crumbs. Tip into the prepared tin and smoothly level with the back of spoon, ,pressing it down lightly. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 




For the topping finely grate the zest of the lemons, and squeeze all the juice, you need 100-120ml. Whisk together the eggs and sugar, using an electric whisk for 1 minute. Add the zest and juice and whisk briefly to mix. Add the flour and whisk well to mix.


Pour the topping over the base and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the topping has just set.

The topping about to go into the oven

Leave to cool completely in the tin. I had to cover with foil and put it in the fridge overnight.


Lift out of the tin using the paper and dust with icing sugar. Cut into bars and enjoy.