Joan McNamara’s lemon bars

MAKES 18

For the base 230g unsalted butter 280g plain flour

55g icing sugar

For the topping 460g caster sugar

40g plain flour

1tsp baking powder 4 eggs

125ml lemon juice

40g icing sugar, to serve

1 x 32 x 22cm baking tin

Preheat the oven to 175C/155C F/Gas 3. Line the baking tin. To make the base, melt the butter and allow it to cool. Combine the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the melted butter and stir until you have a pasty dough. Tip into the prepared tin and, using a palette knife, spread out evenly across the base. Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden.

In the meantime, make the topping. In a large bowl, whisk together the caster sugar, flour and baking powder. Add the eggs and the lemon juice and whisk by hand until smooth. Pour onto the hot base and return to the oven for 25 minutes, or until just set.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into bars. Sprinkle generously with icing sugar and serve right away, or store, chilled, in an airtight container for up to 1 week and then sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.