I don’t typically retool recipes so quickly, as I’ve got other things on my baking agenda, but the idea for these bars really stuck in my head. I want to submit them for the State Fair, and so I want to get the recipe ready and perfect before I lock them in. So even though I made some Chocolate Coffee Passion Fruit Bars just a few weeks ago, I’m already re-doing them in a new way.
I think this way is a little simpler and less messy. Which is ideal for fair entry, but also just for anyone eating them. The coffee and chocolate are combined into one shortbread layer, and then the passionfruit layer is again very similar to a lemon bar, but in a different style than just a curd.
I purchased these chocolate graham crackers, thinking I could use them in another iteration. But then I realized that a graham cracker crust was just always going to be a bit messy. So I decided to go with the shortbread-style crust. I guess I’ll just have to use up those chocolate graham crackers a different way!
These were okay. They certainly weren’t bad. I didn’t love the creaminess of the filling – it tasted like a custard, and wasn’t as strong a flavor as the other bars. But the shortbread crust worked, it was less crumbly than the graham crackers.
So I think I’ll have to do a third retooling. Maybe with a slightly thicker chocolate coffee shortbread crust, but something more like the filling of the other one. The flavor combination works… just a matter of figuring out the right textures.
And in the meantime, before I get to remaking these again… Chocolate coffee passion fruit remains delicious, so it’s certainly not a burden to finish this batch.
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PinIngredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 package (~2 1/2 tsp) coffee powder
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- ¾ cup passion fruit juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang in order to pull the bars out.
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Add flour, cocoa powder, and coffee powder, and mix on low just until combined. Press dough into the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of prepared pan; prick all over with a fork. Bake until lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, condensed milk, and passionfruit juice until smooth. Pour over hot crust in pan; return to oven, and bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
- Refrigerate until filling is firm, about 2 hours or up to 3 days. Dust with powdered sugar, then cut into squares and serve.
Notes
Adapted from Martha Stewart