Lemon 'Brownie'

These delightful “brownies” from Allyson Gofton’s special new cookbook GIVE are easy to make from fridge and pantry staples and are perfect for gifting.

Allyson Gofton dreamt up GIVE as a book full of small gifts of foodie love for you to bottle, bake and craft for any special occasion. The cookbook also showcases recipes from well-known New Zealanders such as Dame Trelise Cooper and Petra Bagust, and $30 of every book sold will be donated to Breast Cancer Cure Research.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ cups caster sugar
1 ½ cups flour
250g butter, softened
4 eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp grated lemon rind
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 180°C and set the oven rack in the centre. Line the base and sides of a 20cm x 30cm slice tin with baking paper.

You will need to use an electric beater to achieve the correct texture. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and beat on a moderate speed for 3–5 minutes, until the mixture is light, fluffy and very voluminous – about three times the original size. Spread evenly into the prepared slice tin.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly golden and the slice has shrunk away from the sides of the tin. Cool in the tin for 10–15 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack to finish cooling. Sift a thick dusting of icing sugar on top before cutting into slices. Keep in an airtight container.

Makes about 30 pieces.

Tips:

The butter must be at room temperature and not melted: your fingers should easily leave an indentation in it. For the freshest flavour avoid Meyer lemons. Instead, use Yen Ben or Lisbon lemons.

Recipe from GIVE: Seasonal recipes for gifting
By Allyson Gofton
Photography by Lottie Hedley
Publisher Bateman Books