- 16
Ingredients
- SHORTBREAD
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2/3 cup cake flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- LEMON CURD
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Preparation
Step 1
SHORTBREAD: In a large bowl, cream butter and both sugars together with mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly blend in the flours, baking powder and salt until completely blended. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic. Wrap well and press down to form a 1/2" thick square. Refrigerate the dough until it's firm, about 20 min. Heat the oven to 350F. Prepare two sheets of waxed paper, each at least 11 x 11 inches. Grease an 8 x 8 metal or glass pan with butter.
When the dough is firm, unwrap it and put it between the sheets of waxed paper. Roll the dough to an approximate square, slightly larger that 8 x 8 inches and about 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top sheet of paper, trim the dough with a dull knife to an 8 x 8 square. Flip the dough into the greased pan and peel off the paper. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan. Bake until the shortbread is light golden on top, 25 to 30 min. Remove the pan from the oven, but keep the heat set to 350F as you make the lemon curd.
CURD: In a medium saucepan, heat the lemon juice, butter and cream to just under a boil; the butter should be melted. Remove from the heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together by hand the sugar, eggs and yolks until combined. Whisk in a bit of the hot liquid and then gradually whisk in a bit more until it's all added. This technique, called tempering, heats the eggs slowly and gently so they don't curdle.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat on medium, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan to keep the eggs from scrambling. Cook until the lemon curd coats the spoon thickly enough to leave a line when you draw your finger through it, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine sieve. Stir in the salt and vanilla.
Pour the curd over the baked shortbread and smooth it evenly with a spatula. Bake until the curd has set and jiggles like firm jello, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until the curd has completely set, at least 4 hours. Cut into 16 pieces.