Lemon Slice

A simple no bake Lemon Slice made with fresh lemons, sweetened condensed milk and coconut. You don’t need an electric mixer or an oven. It’s quick and easy – perfect for morning or afternoon tea.

Calling all lemon lovers 💛

If you have an abundance of lemons sitting in your fruit bowl and a packet of biscuits in your cupboard, you are the prime candidate for my lovely Lemon Slice.

This simple traybake is completely no bake and takes just minutes to throw together!

You don’t need an electric mixer or an oven. Instead, this is a quick one bowl recipe that results in a soft, chewy and zesty Lemon Slice. Or if you want a chocolate fix, try my Perfect Chocolate Slice recipe.

Why you will love this recipe

• It’s quick and easy to make
• You don’t need an electric mixer
• It keeps well for days
• It’s bursting with real lemon flavour

Recipe testing

I just love slices and no bake slices are even better! Whether it’s a chocolate-y Mars Bar Slice or a tangy wake-up call like my Easy Passionfruit Slice, these simple recipes are some of the best.

They’re perfect to share for morning or afternoon tea or even for a low-key birthday party. And this buttery Lemon Slice recipe ticks all the boxes.

Made with crushed store bought biscuits, fistfuls of coconut, and plenty of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest, it’s bright and flavourful.

Then comes a little butter and oodles of sweetened condensed milk to make it both buttery and moreish. You’re welcome!

The final touch is a thin layer of lemon icing which takes the lemon flavour over-the-top in the best kind of way.

Ingredients

You only need a handful of basic ingredients, six in total, to make my easy Lemon Slice. Let’s take a look:

• Storebought biscuits: Any plain, sweet storebought cookies or biscuits should work. I use Digestives for the biscuit base, but Graham Crackers, Arnotts Marie or Rich Tea biscuits will work too. You’ll need to crush the biscuits into fine crumbs. A food processor is a quick way to do this but if you don’t have one, you can put them in a sandwich or zip lock bag and give them a good bash with a rolling pin – it’s effective and a little therapeutic.
• Desiccated coconut: I recommend using unsweetened coconut. Desiccated coconut is nice and fine so lends itself well to this slice, but shredded coconut will also work.
• Lemons: You’ll need both fresh lemon juice and zest for this recipe for maximum flavour.
• Butter: If you use unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt to the dry ingredients.
• Sweetened condensed milk: I tested this recipe with both sweetened condensed milk and skim sweetened condensed milk – both worked. I used Nestle brand. Don’t use evaporated milk – it’s not the same.
• Icing sugar: Or powdered sugar. This is used to make the two-ingredient lemon glaze icing. Make sure your sugar is sifted for a smooth icing. Don’t use caster sugar or regular sugar – only icing or powdered sugar will work here.

How to make Lemon Slice

This is a really quick and easy recipe. You don’t need an electric mixer and it’s completely no bake. Here’s a summary of how to make it, with the full instructions listed in the recipe card below.

1. In a large mixing bowl, add crushed biscuits, coconut and fresh lemon zest (photo 1).
2. Give dry ingredients a quick stir (photo 2).
3. Add sweetened condensed milk, melted butter and fresh lemon juice (photo 3).
4. Stir until crumbs are fully coated – the mixture should resemble wet sand (photo 4).
5. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press down using the back of a dessert spoon into one even layer (photo 5). Place in the fridge to firm up slightly.
6. Stir together icing sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over lemon icing and spread out into one even layer (photo 6). Place in the fridge to set.
7. Sprinkle slice with extra lemon zest. Slice into squares to serve.

Frequently asked questions

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Let’s Bake

Lemon Slice recipe

Yield Serves 16 1x

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 9 reviews

Prep: 90 minutesTotal: 90 minutes

Quick and easy Lemon Slice made with sweetened condensed milk.

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Ingredients

Lemon coconut base

• 300 grams (roughly 3 cups) plain sweetened storebought biscuits (see notes)
• 100 grams (1 cup) desiccated coconut
• Zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
• 60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 240 ml (1 cup) sweetened condensed milk
• 2–3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (roughly 1 lemon)

Lemon icing

• 125 grams (1 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Lemon zest, to decorate

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Instructions

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with baking or parchment paper. Place biscuits into a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs.
2. Pour biscuit crumbs into a large mixing bowl. Add coconut and lemon zest and stir to combine.
3. Pour over melted butter, sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice and quickly stir to completely coat the biscuit crumbs. Mixture should resemble wet sand.
4. Transfer crumbs to prepared pan. Press down firmly using the back of a spoon to form one even layer.
5. Place slice in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set before making the lemon icing.
6. Combine sugar and lemon juice. Stir until smooth. 
7. Pour icing over cookie base and put back in the fridge for at least another hour. To serve, sprinkle with fresh lemon zest and cut into squares. Store slice in the fridge. 

Notes

Biscuits: Any sweet plain store bought biscuits will work. I’ve used Digestive biscuits but graham crackers, Arnotts Marie or Rich Tea biscuits would also be fine. You’ll need to crush the store bought biscuits. If you don’t have a food processor, you can put them in a sandwich or zip lock bag and give them a good bash with a rolling pin – it’s effective and a little therapeutic. 

Coconut: I recommend using unsweetened coconut. Desiccated coconut is nice and fine so lends itself well to this slice, but shredded coconut will also work. 

Sweetened condensed milk: I tested this recipe with both sweetened condensed milk and skim sweetened condensed milk – both worked. I used Nestle brand. Don’t use evaporated milk – it’s not the same.

Storage: Keep Lemon Slice in the fridge in an airtight container. 

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1 slice Calories: 234 Sugar: 23.1 g Sodium: 145.9 mg Fat: 9.8 g Carbohydrates: 34.8 g Protein: 3.1 g Cholesterol: 14.7 mg

Nutrition information is a guide only.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: SliceCuisine: Australian

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Jessica Holmes

Hi, I’m Jess, the creator of Sweetest Menu and the author of Something Sweet. A self-taught baker and published recipe writer who can’t stop making easy and delicious baking recipes.