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Friday 24 April 2009

For The Love of Lemon & Lime & My Birthday Cake!

Sub-lime Lemon & Lime Squares

My love for citrus flavours began as a child when I would visit my ‘dear’ aunt. She would always make sure a home baked lemon meringue pie would be on the tea-table, I would always eagerly accept a slice to eat too! As my teeth sunk whole heartily into firstly the crispy meringue, then the velvet yellow lemon curd and lastly but not least the magnificent sweet pastry base – oh this is a dessert to behold! Today I still enjoy a slice of home baked lemon meringue pie which I now bake myself and when I take that first bite it transforms me back to sunny child free days and fond memories of my aunt.


Lemon Square


Lime Square

These lemon and lime squares are such an easy bake but packed with such delicious flavours. The base is somewhat like a buttery shortbread followed by a silky smooth lemon or lime topping. They make a tempting treat to have with a cuppa and also a delicious dessert too.



Sub-lime Lemon & Lime Squares

Either use finely grated lemon zest and juice or finely grated lime zest and juice, depending on which citrus flavour is desired.

Ingredients
125g (4½ oz) softened butter
40g (1½ oz) icing sugar
150g (5 oz) plain flour - plus 2 tablespoons of plain flour
3 eggs
225g (8 oz) cater sugar
2 tsp finely grated lemon or lime zest
125ml (4½ fl oz) lemon or lime juice

You will need 20cm (8 in) square tin, line the base and sides with tin foil, extending the tin foil 2cm (¾ in) above the edge of the tin. This will help to ease out the bar when ready for slicing.

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Beat the butter and icing sugar in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in the 150g (5 oz) of flour. Press the mixture evenly over the base of the prepared tin. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes until browned lightly. Meanwhile, place the eggs, caster sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons flour, zest and juice in a bowl. Whisk until combined. Pour the egg mixture over the hot base. Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until firm. Cool in the tin on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Dust with extra sifted icing sugar, if desired or a slice of thinly sliced lemon/lime. Store sliced, covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Lastly, sit back, relax and enjoy a slice or two of your delicious citrus bar(s) you have created.... oh yes what joy....mmmmm!


I would also like to share with you my birthday cake that Mr. R. (hubby) purchased for my birthday today. As he would tell you himself, he is no baker what-so-ever, so he brought me this beautiful rose cake to enjoy. I couldn't resist showing you :0)



It has been a very busy period for me since Easter. Hopefully now that things are starting to calm down I will be back to ‘normal’ baking and blogging once again. Gosh I have missed you guys!!

56 comments:

Finla said...

Belated Happy Birthday wishes to you Rosie, hope you had a wonderful b'day and the Lime squares looks super yumm.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday, Rosie!! That truly is one beautiful rose birthday cake that your hubby purchased. :)
Your lemon and lime squares look gorgeous too. They are one of my favorite desserts.

Maria♥ said...

Happy Birthday Rosie!! Have a great day ;o)

Those lemon and lime squares look wonderfully delish.

Maria
x

The Wandering Pit said...

Many happy belated returns! Your husband picked well as your birthday cake looks beautiful. I also love citrus flavours so will have to try these out!

Mary said...

Happy Birthday and congrats for the cake , it is so beautiful!

Ashwini said...

Belated Happy Birthday wishes dear.. That is one beautiful cake. Enjoy!!

Maria said...

I love lemon bars--they were one of the first things I started baking when I was first married. So refreshing.

Happy Birthday!! It was actually my birthday yesterday (the 23rd) too. Beautiful cake from your hubby!

Rachel said...

Belated B'day wishes to you...love citrusy flavour in anything and the ribbon around the b'day cakes lends it an elegance.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Happy Birthday and best wishes!

Just like you, I love anything citrusy. These lemon & lime squares look really scrumptious!

Cheers,

Rosa

Caroline said...

Happy Birthday Rosie! It was really sweet of your hubby to buy such a lovely cake for you!

The lemon/lime bars look really good - I love citrus flavours - they're wonderfully fresh and tasty!

Anonymous said...

I just knew by the title I would love this post. My mouth is watering.
As for your birthday.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Abitofafoodie said...

Happy Birthday dear Rosie! What a pretty cake. And those bars looks so delicious - I remember baking something similar years ago and have lost the recipe so am so pleased to find a replacement. Like you, I adore citrus-flavoured bakes.

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Happy Birthday Rosie, hope you had a fab birthday. Gorgeous cake your husband bought! Lemon flavour is a firm favourite for anything baked in this house but I should experiment with lime too as we love it on savoury stuff.

Caroline said...

Erm Rosie, how many eggs please? Have I missed them somehow?

Thanks!!

Coleens Recipes said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Snooky doodle said...

Happy birthday!! This lemon bars look delicious. I m a big fan of lemon .

♥Rosie♥ said...

Ahhhh thank you my friends for all your wonderful birthday wishes :0)

Opps....sorry C... and thank you for pointing out re-eggs, how silly of me to miss them out! I have now added to the recipe :0)

Best wishes Rosie x

Oh my! Apple pie! said...

Happy birthday Rosie!
Those lemon and lime squares are my idea of heaven....

♥Rosie♥ said...

Happy birthday Maria for yesterday (23rd April)!! I hope you had a lovely day and was spoilt rotten ;0)

You share your birthday with England’s St Georges Day :0)

Hugs Rosie x

Caroline said...

Happy Birthday Rosie, hope you are enjoying your special day.
And those bars look sub"lime"! :)

Bunny said...

Your cake is beautiful, Happy Birthday!! I love lemon as well, your description of biting into your aunt's lemon pie was wonderful!

Chef Jeena said...

Happy birthday Rosie. :-)

Lemon cakes look tasty and your hubby picked a nice romantic cake too. :-)

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to you. Happeeeee birthday dear Rosieeeeee. Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuu. And many moooooore! :)

Love the lemon bars and your cake is lovely! That was very sweet of your honey!

We miss ya too Rosie
~ingrid

Uma said...

Many may happy returns of the day Rosie! Have a wonderful birthday. Your b'day cake looks so beautiful reflecting your name :)

Lemon and lime squares are so mouth-watering. What a blend of flavors! Yum! Have a great weekend.

TeaLady said...

Luscious lemon squares. And beautiful cake. Lucky you. And Happy Birthday.

Sally said...

A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you dear ROSIE. Friday 24th April.
What a truely beautiful cake your hubby gave you. So pretty. What did it taste like?
And the lemon and lime squares look very yummy too.
Love Sally.

Elyse said...

Happy Bday, Rosie!! Your lemon and lime bars look spectacular, and Mr. R did a great job with your bday cake. It's just beautiful. What a sweet hubby. Hope you had a wonderful bday!

Ria Mathew said...

Belated Happy Birthday Rosie!!! Lovely lime squares! So wat if your hubby doesn't bake!! He definately has a good choice! Look at that beauty with a ribbon around its seductive body!! ;) Lovely cake Mr.R!!!

Hugs!

Rhyleysgranny said...

Happy Birthday Rosie. Such a lovely cake from your hubby. Your lemon and lime squares look just lovely. I adore citrus flavours in cake

Cakelaw said...

Happy birthday Rosie!!! Your hubby chose a wonderful cake. And your citrus squares look and sound delicious - I agree that it is such a sunny flavour.

Anonymous said...

That is a lovely cake Rosie! Wish you a Happy Birthday!!!

Sara said...

Happy Birthday! I hope you had a great day. The cake is beautiful and those squares look delicious.

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

I love lemon squares. Yum! Hope you had a fabulous birthday!

Donna said...

I'm ALWAYS LATE TO THE PARTY!!!lolol...
Happy Late Birthday Sweetie!!!!hughughugs

Peter M said...

Happy B-day Rosie...all the best, happy baking and please send me a lemon square.....Ummm!

Hornsfan said...

Happy B-day Rosie, your husband did a great job picking out that beautiful cake! These bars look like the perfect treat, can't wait to try them!

novia said...

happy belated birthday, rosie. wish you all the best. i wish my hubby gave me another beautiful cake like yours on my birthday next month :p

A_and_N said...

Belated birthday wishes Rosie! I hope you had a wonderful time :)

I LOVED the word-play with 'sub-lime' pretty cool :) And nice to see you name designed on the cake...thats quite thoughtful of your husband :)

The Caked Crusader said...

Happy birthday! I'm glad you didn't have to make ALL your birthday cakes - looks like your husband chose well!

Anonymous said...

Belated B'Day wishes Rosie..Hope you had a splendid one..with the awesome lime cake...loved it like crazy..(love lime so so much)

Katie said...

Happy Birthday Rosie! Looks like we share the same birthday! Your cake looks wonderful.

Lemon meringue pie always reminds me of home too and I love lemon squares. Never tired lime squares though so will have to give these a go. Hope you had a wonderful day :)

Illona said...

Happy Belated Birthday Rosie. What a lovely cake. Thanks for the citrus bars recipe. Looks wonderful and bet it tastes just as great. Can't wait to try it out!

Maggie said...

Happy Birthday! It is nice to be bought a birthday cake especially as you make them for everyone else.

dabrah said...

I'm a bit late, but happy birthday to you Rosie. I hope you had a lovely day. Those lemon squares look wonderful, and I just happen to have all the ingredients handy....

nath said...

very cute cake... and yummy too I think... I really like your blog, wanna link exchange with me (put my blog into your blogroll?? I have a foody blog too.. thanks a lot :)

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Rosie, they are absolutely adorable!

Hope you are having wonderful day,
Margot

La Bella Cooks said...

Happy belated birthday. What a gorgeous cake your husband bought for you. Just lovely!

Lore said...

Happy belated b-day Rosie! Oh my you can tell how much Mr. R. loves you just by looking at the cake he bought for you :). As for the cirus I love them all: oranges, tangerines, ruby red grapefruit, lemons, limes.. they are right there next to the chocolate on my preference list. The squares look delish and refreshing!

Gloria Baker said...

Rosie Firts: Belated Happy Birthday my dear!!! Blessings to you!
I love all with lemon!!! always!! and the Cake your hubby bought is absolutely wonderful and cute! so nice!! xxxxGloria

Ruth Strong said...

Belated Happy Birthday wishes! Hope you had a great day!

Loving these lemon and lime bars

Nic said...

Many happy (belated) returns, dear Rosie! The cake looks splendid.

Ivy said...

Happy belated birthday wishes dear Rosie. Your cake is stunning.

David Hall said...

Rosie, you still make the best cakes in the world, utterly delicious!

Cheers
David x

glamah16 said...

Happy belated birthday. I know I have been absent in commenting a while, but forgive me. Hope all is well.

♥Rosie♥ said...

Many, many thanks to you my 'dear' friends for all your lovely birthday wishes :0)

Best wishes Rosie x

all in one printer said...

The cake is so simply beautiful.