dessert – Cooking through the seasons: the adventures of a San Diego Gastronaut.

HEY GUYS!

So our CSA gifted us some lovely passion fruit this week!

These bad boys are SO good! Usually we scoop out the sweet insides and put them into a cocktail, or plop it on top of ice cream. But this week I was inspired to do something a little bit more adventurous. I hope you like it!

Here is what you’ll need:

For the Crust:
8 oz unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups (9 oz) all-purpose flour

For the Filling:
5 large eggs
2 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups passion fruit puree (or combination of fruit – I used passion fruit, lemon juice, lemon zest, blackberries, and lavender syrup.)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

——-

To Make the Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9×13 pan with foil so that it extends up the sides, and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl, (or mixer ) whisk together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt.

Once mixed, add the flour and stir with a spatula until combined and no streaks of flour remain.

Scrape the dough into the pan and press it into an even layer. It might seem a little greasy—this is normal.

** don’t worry, it doesn’t need to look pretty, you won’t see it in the end. Just be sure it’s as even and flat as possible.

Bake the crust for 25-30 minutes at 350 F, until it’s golden brown on top. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling so it’s ready to go as soon as the crust is done.

To Make the Filling:
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, and fruit puree.

*note, if you are using fresh fruit, you need to make the puree. A blender or magic bullet will do this. Combine whichever fruit you like until you make 1 1/2 cups total. You can get creative by adding jelly, or flavored syrups etc.

^^ Look how beautiful those passion fruit are!

Sift the flour on top of the egg mixture, and whisk it in as well.

When the filling is done baking, slide the rack part-way out of the oven. Pour the filling over the hot crust and slide it back into the oven. Reduce the temperature to 325 F and bake for 30 minutes.

OOPS! I TOTALLY FORGOT TO PHOTOGRAPH THIS STEP!

But it is pretty self explanatory so I think you’ve got it!

As it cooks, the flour in the fruit and egg mixture will harden and make a mini top crust. It won’t be ask thick as your bottom crust, or even like traditional pie crust. To be sure it is done cooking, cut into it and see if the insides have hardened at all, if they pour out, it needs some more time in the oven.

Once done, remove the pan from the oven and let it cool until it reaches room temperature. For the cleanest cuts, refrigerate the bars and cut them when completely cold. The time in the fridge will also help the insides harden/firm.

The first time I cut into it, the insides were still way too oozy. Don’t freak out if this happens to you. I just put it back in for an additional 15 minutes and they were good.

To cut, remove the bars from the pan using the foil as handles.

Use a large sharp chef’s knife and wipe it off often between cuts. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar before serving. ( I also added some strawberry preserves on top!)