Lavender-Honey Lemon Tart

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup powdered sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted

• ¾ cup Astor Apiaries  New York City Raw honey

• 3 tablespoon food-grade dried lavender buds

• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

• 4 large eggs

• ¾ cup granulated sugar

• 4 lemons (2 tsp. zest, 3/4 cup juice)

• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• Whipped cream

•  Candied Lemons  (See recipe below)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, powdered sugar, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Stir in melted butter until dough comes together. Press dough evenly into bottom and up sides of a 14x4-inch rectangular or 9-inch round tart pan with removable bottom. Refrigerate crust at least 20 minutes or until firm.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prick bottom of crust all over with a fork. Line crust with foil or parchment paper; fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights; bake 10 to 15 minutes more or until golden. Let cool on a wire rack.

3. For lavender honey: In a small saucepan combine honey and lavender buds. Heat over medium until honey simmers. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes. Pour honey through a fine-mesh sieve to remove lavender; discard lavender. Set honey aside.

4. In a small bowl sprinkle gelatin over 4 teaspoons cold water; set aside.

5. In a medium saucepan whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon zest until combined. Whisk in lemon juice. Cook over medium, whisking constantly, 6 to 8 minutes or until thick and creamy. (Lemon curd will coat the back of a spoon, and a streak will remain visible if you run your finger across the spoon.)

6. Remove from heat; stir in cut-up butter until it melts into curd. Stir in gelatin until combined. (The heat will melt gelatin.) Pour curd into cooled crust. Refrigerate tart 4 hours or until completely set.

7. Top tart with whipped cream and Candied Lemons. Drizzle with lavender honey. Serves 8.

Candied Lemons

Preheat oven to 275°F. Thinly slice a small lemon, discarding ends. In a large straight-sided skillet heat 1/4 cup lavender honey from Step 3 and 1/4 cup water just to boiling, stirring to dissolve honey. Add lemon slices to skillet. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove lemon slices from syrup; arrange in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once halfway through baking. Check slices every ten minutes, because some will brown more quickly than others. Remove as they brown.