Lemon Coconut Bars

Continuing with my Afternoon Tea theme for Mother's Day (April 3^rd in the UK) here are my quick and easy Lemon Coconut Bars. Irresistibly zesty, sticky and sweet, they won't last long!

Lemon Coconut Bars

225g/ 8oz digestive biscuits

115g/ 4oz butter

Small tin of condensed milk*

115g/ 4oz unsweetened dessicated coconut

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

115g/ 4oz Icing sugar

55g/ 2oz toasted coconut for topping (optional)

Extra lemon zest for garnish (optional)

Line a square pyrex dish or other medium sized square tin with cling film then set aside.

Crush the digestive biscuits, either in a food processor or in a sandwich bag with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs.

In a medium sized pan melt the butter with the condensed milk. Once melted mix in the crushed biscuits, coconut and the lemon zest. Press the mixture into the dish and put into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

While the lemon bars are chilling make the icing. Sift the icing sugar into a medium sized bowl then add 2 tbsp of juice from the the lemon and stir until you have a smooth fairly thin icing that you can drizzle. Once the lemon bars have chilled drizzle over the icing then sprinkle over the toasted coconut and lemon zest if using. Return to the fridge to chill again (if you are in a hurry you can stick them into the freezer quickly) then cut into bars and serve with a cup of tea.

*In Canada the tins I buy are 300ml which works out at about 385g. A little less than the 397g size of tin you get in the UK but definitely not worth opening another tin for! Use either depending on where you live. These bars are definitely sticky and I recommend keeping them in the fridge. If you would prefer a firmer bar simply use less condensed milk - I like them sticky so use the full amount but for a firmer bar I would suggest cutting it down to 315g/ 11oz. Enjoy!