Coconut Lime Squares

What would be a good dessert to serve after a hearty beef stew? (See previous posting.) I chose one that was tangy and light with the delicious crunch of toasted coconut. The recipe for these simple to make squares was published in the January 1995 edition of Gourmet Magazine. We all loved the squares and ate far too many.

For crust

3/4 cup plus 2 tbl. flour

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted and cooled

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

For custard

4 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tbl. fresh lime juice (from about 5 limes)

1 tbl. freshly grated lime zest (from about 2 limes)

1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted and cooled

Make crust:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and butter and flour an 8 inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.

In a bowl blend together with fingertips flour, butter, coconut, confectioners' sugar and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture into prepared pan and bake in middle of oven 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Make custard:

In a bowl whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until combined well and stir in flour, lime juice and zest.

Pour mixture over crust and bake in middle of oven for 20 minutes. Top custard with coconut and bake 5-10 minutes more, or until just set. Cool in pan on a rack and chill 1 hour.

Makes 16 2 inch squares

Notes:

When I added lime juice to the custard mixture, the mixture suddenly got lumpy. I squashed most of the lumps with a wooden spoon. The lumps were not a problem once the squares were baked.

These were a little difficult to get out of the pan. When I make them again I will line pan with buttered parchment or foil. The lining should be large enough to have an overhang which can help lift everything out of the pan.