A few years ago, I don’t even remember when, I tried Milk Bar’s Coffee Chocolate Passion Fruit layer cake. My mind was blown. I’m fairly certain I tried it before working for them, so it would have had to have been during an NYC visit, before they limited their cake selections so drastically. So it may have even been back in 2014 when I visited my sister at her Columbia publishing program. All this to say – it’s been many years, and I don’t even remember the details, but that cake has stuck in my mind. What’s that saying? “Something something, they’ll forget what you say but not how you make them feel.” Well I say… “Something something, they’ll forget the details, but not the way the cake tasted.”
Maybe not everyone’s mind works that way. Frankly, sometimes my mind doesn’t work that way. Even I usually remember the event and the company more than the dessert. So I think that the way that cake stuck in my mind is a testament to just how good it is.
I think, more than the cake specifics, I was just so struck by how well the flavors combined. I think of coffee and passionfruit as both being “hero flavors,” and then I was wary of how chocolate and passionfruit would go together. But all the flavors worked together beautifully! Three strong flavors that all balance. It’s incredible.
I’ve been trying to find an excuse to make the cake for year, but just have never gotten around to it. But then I figured… why not take those flavors and see what else I can do with them. So I pulled together these bars.
I was hoping these would be a bit like lemon bars, but then were a bit gooier than a typical lemon bar. Which is okay – I am certainly okay with it. But in the future (especially if I were to, say, enter it in a State Fair competition), I think the texture could be workshopped. The chocolate ganache was also certainly adding to the goo-iness of it, so I may dial that back and make it firmer as well as make the curd layer a bit more like lemon bars.
Maybe the coffee graham crust could have a chocolate element? Chocolate grahams and coffee in the crust, then the passionfruit curd filling? We shall see.
As I workshop it, I guess I’ll just have to suffer through getting to enjoy this flavor combination in different configurations. You can’t say I don’t work hard for this art.
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A coffee graham crust, passion fruit curd filling, and chocolate ganache topping
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, from about 10 whole graham crackers
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon coffee powder
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Passion fruit curd filling
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt
- 1 1/2 cups passion fruit purée
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Chocolate ganache
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (about 3/4 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Line an 8″ square pan with a parchment sling and lightly grease the parchment.
- To make the crust: In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, coffee powder, confectioners’ sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Transfer the crust mixture to the prepared pan, then use the bottom of a measuring cup or glass and the pads of your fingers to press it firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes, until fragrant and slightly darker in color and then remove from the oven. While the crust bakes, prepare the curd filling.
- To make the curd filling: In a large saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt. Add the passion fruit purée, lemon juice, eggs, and yolks, and whisk to combine.
- Cook the curd mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly and being sure to get into the corners of the pan, until it begins releasing steam when stirred and just begins to thicken, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter; the mixture will become smooth and shiny.
- When the crust is done baking, remove it from the oven and place it on a rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
- Pour the hot curd through a fine-mesh strainer onto the crust, being sure to collect any curd that clings to the bottom of the strainer. Spread it into an even layer, covering the entire surface of the crust.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the curd layer is completely set but has not taken on any color and then remove it from the oven. While the curd bakes, prepare the cream topping.
- Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill and set completely, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
- For the chocolate ganache: Heat the heavy cream and kosher salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Add the chocolate chips to a medium heatproof bowl, pour over the heavy cream mixture and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk together until smooth.
- Pour the ganache over the curd, spread to smooth and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
- Once set, lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment sling and transfer them to a cutting board. For the cleanest cuts, dip a chef’s knife in hot water and dry it thoroughly, between every cut. These bars are best served chilled.
- Storage information: Store any leftover bars, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week; freeze for longer storage.
Notes
Adapted from King Arthur Flour and Food Network