Lemon Curd Slice (Egg-Free)

We had friends over recently. You know the saying: you should never cook anything new when you’re cooking for someone else. Well, I ALWAYS break this rule. And, well, sometimes my food doesn’t always work out, haha! 

Anyway - funny story. I planned to make a yummo lemon curd slice, and was halfway through making the slice, when I realised I had NO EGGS! Gah! So, I went frantically looking for an egg-free lemon curd recipe on Google. All of them were filled with refined sugar, margarine, etc, so I got creative and made THIS recipe. Initially when it came out of the oven I thought it was a fail. But…our friends (and even our kids) gobbled up almost the whole tray. So the slice turned out alright, hehe ;) 

Ingredients:

Shortbread crust:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• ¼ cup xylitol
• 1 cup gluten-free flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Lemon filling:

• 3/4 cup lemon juice from about 4 large lemons
• optional: 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups xylitol
• 1 1/4 cups full-fat coconut milk, using mostly the white part
• 6 tablespoons arrowroot powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line an 8 by 8 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal.
2. Make the crust: In a medium bowl, add and mix together the melted coconut oil, xylitol and salt. Add the gluten-free flour and stir until combined. The dough will be thick. Press it into the pan with your hands, evenly and firmly. Bake for 16-18 minutes until the edges are very lightly browned. Set aside.
3. Make the filling: In a medium saucepan, add the lemon juice, lemon zest if using for even more lemon flavor, sugar, coconut milk and arrowroot powder. Whisk well to dissolve the arrowroot. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens.
4. Spread the filling over the crust evenly, using a spatula if needed to smooth. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator for an additional 1-2 hours, or overnight, until set.
5. Lift the bars out of the pan with the parchment paper, dust generously with powdered sugar and cut into 16 squares. 
6. Leftover bars will keep for up to 1 week in a covered container in the refrigerator. They freeze well, too. Enjoy!

Approved for: Adrenal Diet, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegan, Low Hydrogen-Sulphide Diet

Filipa Bellette is Co-Founder of Chris & Filly Functional Medicine. She is an accredited Clinical Nutritionist & Functional Medicine Practitioner. She is also a Ph.D. thought-leader, award-winning writer, and regularly published as a guest blogger & in the media. Together with her husband Chris Bellette, Filipa has worked with over 2,000+ busy, burnout clients in the last 10+ years, and specialises in producing healthy, balanced, and happy Mums & Dads…or as she calls it, a Power Parent! Filipa’s own passion for producing high-performance Power Parents came from her own personal experience of Mummy Burnout, after having babies and juggling the demands of business, family, and her failing health.