Lemon Meringue Shortbread Tart

To prepare crust, sift flour and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter and powdered sugar in a bowl of a standing mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and beat in flour mixture until just incorporated.

Gather dough and form a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to chill.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a tart pan with a removable bottom.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Line prepared pan with rolled dough. Leave a tiny overhand of dough. Use a small kitchen knife to trim the excess and to score the tops of the tart.

Bake crust for 15–20 minutes, or until edge is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let crust cool completely before removing from pan.

To prepare lemon curd, mix lemon zest and sugar with a fork.

In a large bowl, cream butter. Add sugar mixture and beat together. Add eggs, lemon juice and salt and mix together until thoroughly combined.

Pour mixture into a pan and cook over low heat while stirring constantly for about 10–15 minutes or until curd starts to thicken and coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove from heat. Push the lemon curd through the sieve and into a bowl to make it super smooth. Pour lemon curd into cooled tart shell, and place in refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.

To prepare meringue, in a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar and egg whites. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat on high speed for 1 minute, until foamy. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until mixture is hot to touch and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in water, and continue whipping for another 10 minutes until stiff and glossy peaks form.

Place meringue on top of the filling. Use a kitchen torch to lightly brown the frosting. Keep the tart in the refrigerator. Serve in the same day.