Meyer Lemon-Honey Tart with Salted Shortbread Crust

I'm crazy for lemons in any form of dessert: lemon bars, lemon cheesecake, lemon ice cream..the list goes on. I think it's the contrast between tart acidity and cloying sweetness balancing each other out that gets me every time. So naturally I have baked many a lemon tart in my day, but I decided to give this version a try because the idea of paper-thin lemon slices nestled throughout the filling really appealed to me (no pun intended). They're really quite good, adding a pleasant textural element to an otherwise standard lemon curd filling. And the buttery, slightly salty shortbread crust takes this tart from ordinary to outrageous.

adapted from Bon Appetit
Ingredients
for the crust:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray 
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1inch pieces
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 
  
• for the filling:

• 1 Meyer lemon
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup Meyer lemon juice (approx 5 lemons)

• *Special equipment: 9 inch springform pan, mandolin

Instructions

1. Coat springform pan with nonstick spray. 

2. Whisk flour, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl; set aside. Place butter and powdered sugar in a food processor. Pulse until mixture is smooth. Add dry ingredients to food processor and pulse until mixture resembles medium-size pebbles (dough will not come together completely). 

3. Transfer dough to prepared pan. Using your fingers, press dough evenly onto bottom and up the sides of the  pan.

4. Using a mandoline, slice lemon into paper-thin rounds and remove seeds.  Mix sugar, honey, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Add lemon slices and toss to coat. Let sit until lemon is softened and sugar is dissolved, 30-45 minutes. 

5. Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake crust until center is firm to the touch and edges are beginning to turn golden brown, 30-35 minutes.

6. When crust is almost done baking, whisk eggs and egg yolks in a medium bowl to blend. Whisk flour, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl; add to egg mixture and whisk to combine. Whisk in lemon juice. Add lemon slice mixture; mix gently to combine.

7. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Pour filling into hot crust. Bake until filling is set and slightly puffed around edges, 25-30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool completely. Chill for at least 4 hours, then unmold. Serve cold.