These Passion Fruit Curd Bars proved to be a quick favorite and she could hardly wait for me to cut them before she was ready to dig in.

I remember when my mom would make Lemon Bars for parties. It was hard to wait for the gooey filling to cool enough to cut them into bars. Sometimes if I was lucky she’d let me sprinkle them with powdered sugar and I’d try my best not to get it all over the place.  My youngest is no different.

If you are like lemon bars and the flavor of passion fruit, you’ll love these bars. They are incredible. The filling is bright and fresh. The crust is buttery with a hint of toasted coconut.  These would be the perfect thing to take to a summer BBQ or party.

I liked mine with a bit of unsweetened coconut sprinkled on top.

Passion Fruit Curd Bars

recipe by Lindsey Johnson

Ingredients

Crust:

2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into 16 pieces
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup toasted coconut
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg yolk
1-2 Tbsp. light coconut milk (can use regular milk or even water)

Filling:

1 cup passion fruit concentrate (look for it at Latin markets in glass bottles, or in the frozen food section)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed mandarin or orange juice
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Topping:

Sifted powdered sugar, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9″ by 13″ baking dish. Set aside.

To prepare crust, place toasted coconut in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Add the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine. Scatter the butter evenly over the dry ingredients. Pulse again until the butter is distributed evenly into the dry ingredients and it resembles cornmeal with some larger, pea-sized pieces remaining. Mix together the egg yolk and 1 Tbsp. coconut milk. With the motor running, pour the egg/coconut milk mixture through the feed hold and pulse until the dough comes together. Only add the extra tablespoon if the dough is too dry. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and about 1/2″ up the sides of the baking dish. Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Let cool while preparing filling.

To prepare filling, whisk all ingredients together. Pour over the cooled crust and bake for about 30 minutes, or until set. (It should jiggle little if you shake the pan, but will be mostly set.)

Allow Passion Fruit Curd Bars to cool completely before cutting into bars. If desired, sprinkle the top with sifted powdered sugar.  Servings vary depending on the size of the bars. Store covered. Best eaten the day of or within two or three days.