Cream cheese lemon squares

Cream cheese is the real secret behind these lemon squares – it lends richness but also a tang that enhances the lemon.

Credit: Anna's Occasions

• makes

  25

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  50 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

It also gives the lemon filling structure, so that it doesn’t leak into or underneath the shortbread base. Making this in a food processor also keeps the work time to a minimum, but it can also be easily mixed by hand.

Ingredients

Base

• 1 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (115 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Filling

• 120 g (4 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup (38 g) plain (all-purpose) flour
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup (125 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 4 large eggs

Makes one 23 cm (9 inch) square pan. Cut into 25 or 36 squares. 

Chiiling time: 3 hours

Instructions

1.  Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line a 23 cm (9 inch) square pan with parchment paper so that the paper comes up the sides.

2.  To prepare the base, pulse the flour and sugar in a food processor to combine.  Add the butter and pulse it until the mixture is an even crumbly texture, but the dough should not come together.  Press this into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the base turns golden around the edges.  Prepare the filling while the crust cools.

4. In a food processor, pulse the cream cheese with ½ cup (100 g) of the sugar until smooth.  Add the remaining 1 cup (200 g) of sugar, the flour, lemon zest and baking powder and blend.  Add the lemon juice and eggs and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor once or twice.  Pour the filling over the cooled crust.

5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges are set and just show signs of soufflé-ing a little, but the centre should still have a bit of a jiggle to it.  Cool the squares to room temperature before chilling for at least 3 hours before slicing.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

It also gives the lemon filling structure, so that it doesn’t leak into or underneath the shortbread base. Making this in a food processor also keeps the work time to a minimum, but it can also be easily mixed by hand.