Crust Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar (+ a little more, for sprinkling)
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 tablespoons well-chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
Curd Ingredients
- 4 to 6 large lemons
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs + 3 yolks
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
- Pinch of sea salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- ¼ cup fruity olive oil (extra virgin olive oil)
- Flaky sea salt (for sprinkling)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with enough parchment to hang over a good inch or two from the sides. They will be used as handles to help lift the bars out of the pan.
- For the shortbread base, pulse together the flour, sugar, powdered sugar, lemon zest and salt in a food processor, or whisk together in a large bowl.
Add butter and pulse (or use two knives or your fingers) to cut the butter into the flour until a crumbly dough forms. Press dough into prepared pan and bake until shortbread is pale golden all over, 30 to 35 minutes. - While the shortbread is baking, prepare the lemon curd: Grate a generous 1½ teaspoons of zest from lemons and set aside. Squeeze lemons to yield ¾ cup juice.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together lemon juice, sugar, eggs and yolks, cornstarch and fine sea salt over medium heat until boiling and thickened, three to five minutes. Make sure mixture comes to a boil or the cornstarch won’t activate. But once it boils do not cook for longer than one minute or you risk the curd thinning out again. Remove from heat and strain into a bowl. Whisk in butter, olive oil and lemon zest.
- When the shortbread is ready, take it out of the oven and carefully pour the lemon curd onto the shortbread base; return the pan to the oven. Bake until topping is just set, about 10 to 15 minutes more. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold before cutting into bars. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and flaky sea salt right before serving.