But that would be lying.
In fact, a few weeks ago I went outside to the garden and found an absolute lemon-scented mess littering the ground - apparently, the birds in my area had thought it quite fun to take a single bit out of every. single. lemon on the tree!
So this recipe was made using shop-bought lemons, but don't let that deter you - you'd be hard pressed to find a better lemon bar recipe than this one (I'll back up my claim with a lemon bar - care to try some?)
I adapted my recipe from Joy the Baker and here's how you can make your very own:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F) and line an 8x8" tin with baking paper.
2. Cream 113g of butter with 1/2 cup sugar using a stand-mixer (I use the KitchenAid) for about 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup of plain flour and a pinch of salt and don't forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl!
3. Pour the crust mixture into the tin and press it down evenly over the base of the tin with your fingertips. To smooth it out, I used the back of a spoon and rubbed the crust.
4. Bake the crust for 15-18 minutes until browned. Make sure you bake it in the top third of the oven, else it will take a lot longer for your base to bake (and that would mean longer until you get to eat lemon bars, so we can't have that, can we?)
5. While the crust is baking, whisk 2 large eggs with 3/4 cup white sugar until the mixture gets slightly thicker. Add 1 tsp fresh lemon zest (from your lemon tree or otherwise - pesky birds!) and 3 tablespoons of plain flour and 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice.
6. Take your crust out of the oven once its 15-18 minutes are up, and pour your lemony liquid on top!
7. Bake for a further 18-20 minutes until the top layer doesn't jiggle in the middle. Again, make sure your tray is in the top 1/3 of the oven!
8. Leave to cool completely while still in the tin, then take the slab out of the tin and cut into squares, dusting with a heavy dousing of icing sugar - the sweet really does help the sour.
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