Lemon Marshmallow Slice

I don’t have much of a sweet tooth so I rarely bake cakes, slices and the like, so imagine my family’s surprise when I tried out this little number. My Dad was talking about a slice his mother used to make many, many years ago. Unfortunately her recipe is long gone but after some googling I found a few recipes that sounded about right and according to Dad I got it pretty close. If you a fan of sweets things and lemons you must give this a try.

Ingredients

• 40gm butter, softened plus additional 15gm
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp custard powder
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 tbsp gelatine powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence or a squirt of vanilla paste

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 26cm x 16cm slab pan and line with baking paper. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and 1 tablespoon sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add egg and beat until combined, then flour and cornflour and stir until a dough forms. Press dough evenly over the base of the prepared pan. It will seem like there isn’t enough dough but persevere as the dough rises quite a bit when baked.

Bake for 15 minutes or until form. Cool.

To make the lemon filling combine lemon juice, custard powder and the other tablespoon of cornflour in a jug. Place 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the juice mixture and the extra 15gm butter and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Pour lemon filling over biscuit base and smooth surface. Cool.

To make the marshmallow topping place 1/2 cup boiling water and remaining sugar in a heat proof bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Place remaining boiling water in a heat proof jug, sprinkle over gelatine and stir until the gelatine dissolves. If a few lumps remain, microwave in short busts, stirring in between. Set aside 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Add gelatine mixture and vanilla essence to sugar syrup. Using an electric mixer, beat for 10-12 minutes or until a thick white marshmallow forms. Quickly spoon marshmallow over lemon filling. Set aside for 1 hour to set.

Using the baking paper to remove the slice from the baking tray to a cutting board. Then using a hot knife (fill a jug with very hot water, dip in knife to heat and wipe dry), cut into slices and store in an airtight container. Delicious as a sweet treat. Enjoy. Sheryl x