Lemon Squares

Ingredients:

Crust
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup confectionery/icing sugar
A pinch of salt
90gm cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Filling
3 large whole eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained (about 3-4 medium lemons)
90gm soft unsalted butter
1 tsp grated lemon zest

Instructions:

Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius and butter an 8 inch square baking pan.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, icing sugar and salt, stir until blended. Fold in the butter and mix until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
3. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 15-17 minutes until slightly golden and the top feels firm when lightly touched. Set aside.

Filling

1. Set a saucepan filled with 1 inch water over a medium heat.
2. Off the heat, combine egg, yolks, lemon juice and sugar into a large heat resistant mixing bowl and whisk until the sugar dissolves. 
3. Reduce the heat to low, once the water comes to a gentle boil, set the mixing bowl over it, add the soft butter and stir constantly using a silicone spatula until the mixture begin to thicken, about 12 minutes.
4. The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and tt should register 160F or about 71C on the thermometer. Remove from the heat.
5. Using the spatula, immediately push the curd through a fine strainer into a medium glass bowl. Pour the lemon curd into the baked crust.
6. Bake until the center is just set, 13-17 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled at least 3 hours before cutting it into squares and serve.