Gooey Yuzu Slice

This Gooey Yuzu Slice is bursting with citrus flavour from the yuzu curd, which sits on top of a delicious sweet shortcrust base. While this recipe is made using yuzu juice, it can also be made with lemon juice – just a simple swap. It really is very moreish and super easy to make!

I just love these citrus based slices and as mentioned, you can replace the yuzu with lemons in this recipe. It is a very simple recipe to make and only requires 5 ingredients.

I usually make this slice with lemons but was able to get my hands on some beautiful fresh yuzu fruits this year and had to make this slice with them. I actually love the complexity of the yuzu in this. It is fragrant and tastes like a combination of passionfruit, tangerine and grapefruit. I loved it.

What is Yuzu?

Yuzu is a type of citrus that is thought to have originated in central China. They look like a small (mandarin size) wrinkled grapefruit and are very aromatic. Yuzu is used a lot in Japanese and Korean cuisines. Like a lemon, it isn’t eaten as a fruit, but the juice and zest is used. In more recent years it has gained popularity in western countries and is used by chefs for it’s unique flavour. It is still hard to find fresh yuzu fruit here in Australia if you’re not in the hospitality industry, but you can buy bottles of Yuzu Juice from Japanese Grocery Stores. It is probably most known for being an essential ingredient in Ponzu – a japanese sauce.

The best way to describe the taste of Yuzu would be that it’s tart but slightly sweeter than a lemon – more like a meyer lemon with flavours of tangerine, grapefruit and mandarin with an almost umami depth to it (like passionfruit).

This recipe uses only 5 ingredients that most people already have in their pantry. All you need is a food processor and hand held whisk to make things easier. The ingredients required for this recipe are:

• Flour – plain flour is used for this recipe. It is used in both the base and filling mixture. The flour gives structure to the curd mixture.
• Caster Sugar
• Butter – I use salted butter for this recipe but if you only have unsalted, just add a pinch of salt as well. This small amount of salt is a great balance against the sweetness in the slice. Use cold or room temperature butter for this recipe.
• Eggs – I always use free-range large or extra large eggs. The eggs give most of the structure to the filling.
• Yuzu fruit – while I have used Yuzu in this recipe, you can substitute this with lemons. Just use the same quantities. If you prefer a less zesty and more mellow citrus flavour then reduce the juice down from 160ml to 120 – 140ml.

Method/Tips

It’s a very simple and easy recipe to follow, but here are a few tips to help you.

• Make sure you grease and line the baking tin well with baking paper so the baking paper overhangs on all sides. This stops the gooey slice sticking to the sides and also gives you something to hold onto when removing the slice from the tin once it has cooked.
• When making the shortcrust base in the food processor, it will come together as a clumpy crumb rather than a dough ‘ball’ (see photos). You will be able to press the mixture between your fingers and it will stick and form a dough so you know it will come together when pressed in the baking tin.
• Press the pastry down well when forming the base layer. Make sure you take it to the sides and corners of the baking tin and get it as even as you can. I just use clean fingers and knuckles to do this.
• Cooking times for the base is 12-18 minutes, however please check from 10 minutes onwards as all ovens vary. The base should be starting to lightly brown on the edges. It will be cooked but still soft to the touch and will firm up when it is resting.
• Please rest the base for 20 minutes to allow it to cool before adding the curd layer – this is an important step.
• While the base layer is baked at 180°C, the oven temperature is reduced to 165°C to bake the curd layer. This lower oven temperature helps avoid over-baking of the curd. The curd layer can take anywhere from 30-40 minutes depending on the egg size you use and the fact that different ovens vary in temperature. Mine took 35 minutes. If you find the slice is colouring too much, you can cover loosely with foil. Just make sure it doesn’t come into contact with the top of the slice. The slice should be just set and no longer jiggle when you tap or move the tin. Keep an eye on it, as it can change quickly.
• Once it has just set, rest the slice! It will be so tempting to want to cut into it right away, but the curd needs time to cool down and continue setting. It will not slice well and still be soft if you cut into it straight away. It will be worth the wait! ☺️ I rest it on the bench for 1 hour and then refrigerate it for another 2 hours. I often leave it overnight in the fridge before slicing.
• To slice: use a long, sharp knife and make sure you clean the knife blade after every slice to achieve nice clean edges. Serve the slice dusted with icing sugar. Delicious served as is, or with a dollop of cream or even ice-cream.

Once cooled completely, the slice can be stored in an airtight container and kept refrigerated for up to 1 week. They can also be frozen for 3-4 months (without icing sugar on top). You can freeze the whole slice or cut the slice into squares. Put them on a baking tray or sheet in a single layer and not touching each other. Place the tray, uncovered into the freezer for 1-2 hours. Once frozen, put them into a freezer grade glad bag, in a single layer and freeze. To Serve: Defrost in the refrigerator (make sure slices aren’t touching each other) until thawed. Dust with icing sugar when ready to serve.