passionfruit turmeric bars
a last taste of summer!
a wonderful friend slid me a paper bag of home-grown passionfruits last week
they were the last hurrah from summer - juicy, floral and tart
passionfruit pairs beautifully with the earthy fresh turmeric here, and there is an optional hint of star anise in the shortbread base to tie it all together
adapted from these lemon bars
ingredients
shortbread
60g butter
25g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
0.25 tsp salt
65g plain flour
optional: 0.25 tsp ground star anise or chinese five spice
passionfruit turmeric filling
120g caster sugar
10g plain flour
10g cornstarch
2 eggs
75g strained passionfruit pulp (from about 10 small passionfruit, make up any shortfall with lemon juice)
5g fresh turmeric
optional: powdered sugar, to dust
method
shortbread
preheat the oven to 165°C
line a loaf tin with baking paper
melt the butter (60g) and let cool
stir in the sugar (25g), vanilla paste (1 tsp), and salt (0.25 tsp)
sift in the flour (65g) and star anise powder (0.25 tsp, if using) and mix to form a stiff dough
pat into the base of the loaf tin and bake for 20-22 minutes until the edges are lightly browned
passionfruit turmeric filling
while the shortbread is baking, sift together the caster sugar (120g), flour (10g), and cornstarch (10g)
whisk in the eggs (2)
stir in the passionfruit pulp (75g)
grate over the fresh turmeric (5g) and let infuse for 5-10 minutes
as soon as the shortbread base has been pulled from the oven, strain the filling mixture and discard the grated turmeric shreds
pour the filling over the warm shortbread base and return to the oven
bake for 22-25 minutes until just set and lightly jiggly
let cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours, then transfer to the fridge to set completely (at least 2 hours or overnight)
before serving, remove the cooled passionfruit bars from the tin and trim the edges with a hot knife, cleaning the knife between cuts for the neatest finish
slice into six bars
optional: dust with icing sugar before serving