Tropical Lemon Squares

"Addictively good lemon squares with a brown sugar-cashew crust and moist lemony coconut topping full of bits of yummy fruit. The lemon and fruit flavour develops as the squares are cooling so these squares are better after they are out of the oven for several hours. I have no idea how long these squares will keep because they are always gone within a day or so! Note: Golden raisins are a lot softer than other types of raisins and don't leave hard chewy bits in the squares, substituting other types of raisins in this recipe would likely not have the same outcome. Submitted for Ready Set Cook Winter 2005."
 
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photo by CoolMonday photo by CoolMonday
photo by CoolMonday
photo by Annie H photo by Annie H
photo by Annie H photo by Annie H
photo by Annie H photo by Annie H
photo by Annie H photo by Annie H
Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
10
Serves:
35
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.
  • Mix the flour and brown sugar until smooth and lump free, add the melted butter and chopped cashews and mix until well combined (should look like fine crumbs).
  • Press mixture into a 9x13-inch pan and bake for 10 minutes.
  • Mix the eggs and condensed milk (I use the same bowl) until smooth and well combined, then mix in the lemon juice until smooth and well integrated.
  • Add the coconut, chopped raisins and chopped apricots and mix well.
  • Spread the coconut mixture evenly over the partially baked crust and return to the oven for 30 minutes until a light golden in colour (note the coconut in these squares is supposed to be slightly moist rather than dry so the top may look very slightly moist at this point).
  • Run a knife around the edge of the pan while still warm to prevent sides from sticking, wait until the squares are completely cool before cutting into 35.

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Reviews

  1. These looked so good, I couldn't wait until they fully cooled to try them! They were great. Now, I have to confess, I substituted regular raisins because they were all I had, and I was very pleased with the result. I took some pictures, which I will post, so you would know I made the substitution anyway, even if I hadn't told you. — Mar 5, 2005 (Sorry, just realized I somehow forgot the stars on this review!)
     
  2. These were tasty and full of flavour. I made the whole recipe to serve to company and as much as people commented on them being yummy, there was alot left over, because as one of my guests said, "a little goes a long way because they are so rich'. Thank-you for an interesting and tasty treat.
     
  3. These bars were delicious! Easy to make. I might have used Macadamia nuts instead of the cashews for the more "Tropical" taste. But high on my list!
     
  4. Really easy to make especially with a food processor. For a convection oven, bake for 8-9 minutes initially and then for 25 minutes. Very nice and very sweet recipe.
     
  5. I got very mixed reviews on this... Some thought it was outstanding and a 5 star recipe and some didn't care for it at all. It was very strange how positive each side was. I think it was the texture. In all fairness I gave it 4 stars.
     
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Tweaks

  1. This terrific recipe is truly a lemon lovers delight. Very easy to make and great results from items in the pantry. It has a nice creamy texture and cuts beautifully if you can wait for it to completely chill. LOL I did substitute a dried fruit blend containing apricots, pineapple, mango, & papaya for the dried apricots. (They were already chopped) I was very pleased with the results. Thank you chef!!
     
  2. This is a very good lemon square. The texture of the filling is enjoyable and the flavors good. I made this later at night and tried one warm, to compare with completely cooled, and agree with you: they do taste better after sitting for a while. After tasting them warm, cool, and room temp, I would have to say that it's a great flavor. However, there are a lot of ingredients to go in this and the flavor is still mostly lemon. The flavors didn't express themselves as well as I had hoped. The cashews in the crust were a great and tastey touch. The only problem I have with it was it was far too dry. It baked crumbly and even after chilling a large part of the crust simply crumbles off as I cut them. I've partially remedied this by dipping the cut part of the lemon filling into the pile of leftover crumbs, but I'm still sad to see so much crust unused. Overall, though it's a good recipe, I feel that it used a few ingredients that ended up being almost unnoticable (apricots and raisins) and I would add more butter to the crust, or even one egg to help it bind. Perhaps if I subbed more apricots for the raisins I would taste more than the lemon. Thanks for a good recipe!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I'm a retired IT professional who enjoys cooking and trying new recipes...
 
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