Lemon Honey Ginger Crunch

Since being here I've been going crazy wanting to try every single new pastry, biscuit, candy bar that I see. Thankfully for the few pairs of jeans I brought, I haven't been giving in to that urge as often as I have it. I did however, try a Ginger Crunch at the Empire Cafe shortly after we arrived and it has remained one of my favorite things in recent memory. It's a ginger shortbread with a dense, smooth ginger icing. I shared it with my children and Sophie was literally licking the crumbs off the plate once she was done.

I decided to try and make them last night. Of course, I hadn't planned ahead so I was short two ingredients. That didn't stop me from substituting and improvising though! The result was not the ginger crunch I was looking for but the bars were something decadent that we'll make again. If I am good.
 
Crust (base)
200g flour
100g sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
125g softened butter
40g crystalized ginger (I didn't have this last night but really wish I would have)

Icing
150g butter
4 tbsp honey (the original recipe called for golden syrup which I don't have but will pick some up)
270g powdered sugar, sifted
1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp ground ginger (I think this could be doubled next time)
Juice of two small lemons

Preheat oven to 180º C. Line a 9x9 inch pan with parchment. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and powdered ginger. Then cut in the butter until the mixture looks like rough breadcrumbs. Mix in the crystalized ginger. Press this mixture into the prepared pan and bake 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and place on wire rack.

Before the crust is out, melt the butter, lemon juice and honey in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Add the powdered sugar and ginger and continue to cook for 1 minute. Pour this over the recently removed crust while it is still hot. Shake the pan to make sure the icing is distributed evenly. Allow the crunch to cool and the icing to set before slicing. I placed mine in the fridge over night then sliced it in the morning.