Lemon Passionfruit Bars

For my wife's mystery series she likes to make recipes for the different books. This one is a lemon and passion fruit bar that I ended up having to finish myself because she had a teaching gig this last week.  It came out pretty good though.  It was supposed to have more passionfruit jam than we had but it still looks good.  The seeds really make it pop.

One of the seeds I'm not so fond of are blackberry seeds.  They just about always get stuck in the teeth.  Also watermelon seeds just because there are so many of them.  We got peaches recently and they too have a seed problem but a much different one.  Many peaches have a hard time removing the pit and much of the peach gets wasted.  I love when they have the freestone peach though, that sucker comes right out.

Talked about passion fruit recently but it was about the vine and flowers, how they didn't really look real in person.  That might be something to grow though since they really do taste good.

What are some other fruits that have seeds that you find annoying or at the least problematic?  Another one for me used to be pomegranates but I've since learned how to cut them to release the seeds (also get stuck in the teeth) without much hassle.

So I haven't actually put many recipes before but for all of you who might want to make this, here's the recipe

Butter, for greasing the pan

1 box (10 oz.) Chocolate Teddy Grahams

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the Lemon Curd

1 tsp gelatin powder

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Finely grated zest of 2 limes

½ c. lemon juice

¼ c. lime juice

10 oz. sugar

8 large eggs, at room temperature

6 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pats

For the Glaze Layer

½ tsp gelatin powder

10 oz. Passionfruit jam

 

Use butter to grease a 9” x 11” baking dish (which we call our lasagna pan). Line the dish with parchment paper, letting the paper drape a few inches over the long sides of the pan. Set aside.

Place the chocolate Teddy Grahams in a blender and pulse until crumbly. Add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture is the texture of damp sand.  (Originally we tried to use 4 Tbsp. but the crumble was not good.  I think too much was left in the bowl we melted it in.)  Pour the graham mixture into the prepared pan and use the bottom of a cup to press the crumbs down, to make an even crumb layer.  Place the crust layer in the refrigerator to chill.

For the curd, sprinkle 1 tsp. gelatin over 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes until it blooms.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine lemon and lime zest, lemon and lime juice, sugar and eggs.  Whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until thickened. Remove the mixture from the heat. Add the bloomed gelatin and whisk until it dissolves. Add the butter in batches, whisking until melted.

Strain the curd through a fine sieve over the chilled chocolate graham crust. Spread evenly, then refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. (I left this overnight for a nice solid base)

When it is almost ready, sprinkle the other ½ tsp. gelatin over ½ Tbsp. water in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes until it blooms.

Heat the passionfruit jam in a microwave-safe bowl until warm.  This should be just above body temperature.  Add the gelatin and stir until melted. Pour this mixture evenly on top of the curd layers, gently spreading with a basting brush so that the jam reaches all corners. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Once set, cut into bars.