Whole lemon bars (adapted from David Lebovitz)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F)

Add the dry ingredients (flour, sugar and salt) to a mixing bowl and mix. Then pour in the butter while mixing, and mix until just combined. The mixture should look coarse and crumbly but with no visible lump of flour.

Pour the crust mixture into a 20 cm (8 inch) square pan, previously sprayed or buttered (or covered with aluminium foil as mentioned in the original recipe but I tend to avoid that since aluminium can migrate into acidic foods and cause potential health issues) and press it down into an as flat as possible layer.

Bake the crust for 25 minutes.

While the crust is baking, cut the lemon in half, remove the seeds and cut the lemon into chunks. I like to remove some of the pith to prevent the topping from being too bitter. To do that, separate the flesh from the skin (as if preparing supremes), squeeze the juice from any remaining flesh on the skin, then remove a layer of white pith from the skin (keep the skin and throw the pith away). It is ok if there is still some pith left.

Blend the lemon chunks with half of the sugar until the lemon is completely broken up. Taste the blended mix and adjust the amount of sugar according to your taste (the balance of sweet and sour won't change much even after adding the remaining ingredients).

Add the eggs, corn starch, pinch of salt to the lemon/sugar mix and blend. Add the melted butter and blend again until the mixture is almost smooth. Quoting DL : "A few tiny bits of lemon pieces are normal and encouraged."

When the crust comes out of the oven, reduce the temperature to 150°C (300°F) and pour the lemon filling on top. Bake for 20 minutes or just until the filling stops jiggling and is barely set.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Cut the bars into squares or rectangles. Sift powdered sugar over the top just before serving, if desired.