These Passion Fruit Bars have a super-crispy buttery crust with a perfectly balanced tart and tropical filling!
Sweet Tart Lilikoi Bars
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a little obsessed with passion fruit. The flavor, the concept—even the name. When I hear “passion fruit” in my head, it’s invariably being said by someone with a sultry accent, all slow esses and coy head tilts and eyebrow wiggles. It’s a name that’s basically begging you to love it, and when you combine the wink-and-a-nod name with the tart tropical taste, how could I not feel passionate about it?
Last week I posted a picture of some frozen passion fruit puree on Instagram and Facebook, and got several questions about what I do with it. Gather round, friends, I am happy to spread the gospel of the passion fruit! It’s a pretty easy ingredient to use. Basically, since it’s so tart, I substitute it in baking recipes where I might use lemon juice instead.
So, for instance, in the past I’ve used it to make passion fruit curd, and passion fruit pound cake, and passion fruit tarts. Instead of the pure sour pucker of lemon juice, it has a lovely balance of tart and tropical flavors. It makes everything just a little more interesting, and I knew it would be the perfect way to shake up traditional lemon bars.
Table of Contents
The Perfect Crust to Filling Ratio
Everyone has their ideal lemon bar, and everyone’s ideal is a bit different. Slim and dainty, or a tower of curd piled sky-high? Crumbly shortbread crust or crispy buttery crust? Extra-sour flavor or moderately sweet? Firm or soft? Zest or no zest? The questions, they are endless.
So in addition to boasting my favorite fruit flavor (call me, passion fruit!), these bars are also my dream texture. The base is a super-crispy buttery crust that comes together in a minute and doesn’t require any chilling. (Chilling is way too high maintenance for me. Hello, you’re the crust, basically the curd delivery system. You don’t get special treatment!) They have the perfect filling-to-crust ratio, and they set enough to easily and neatly cut, but not so much that you feel like you’re chewing gummy worms. In short, purrrrrr.
I knew that I loved these bars, but the real test came when we served them to a few friends. Some of them thought they were lemon bars before they tasted them, and were so surprised—and happy!—to find a whole new flavor waiting for them! They were a universal hit, and I think I made a few more passion fruit converts that day.
💡Tips and FAQs
Here are my two secret weapons for making these bars: frozen passion fruit pulp and non-melting powdered sugar.
- Frozen passion fruit pulp. The passion fruit pulp is from a local Mexican grocery store—if your area has a sizable Latino population, chances are the freezer section might have a similar product! You can probably substitute the pulp of fresh passion fruit, but those are much harder for me to track down, and I haven’t tried it myself. If you use the frozen puree, just make sure it’s defrosted (duh) before making the recipe.
- Non-melting powdered sugar. This is one of those professional tricks that I think everyone should know about. If you’ve ever made a dessert and sprinkled a gorgeous layer of powdered sugar on top, only to find that it’s absorbed moisture from the dessert and turned into a wet, gloopy mess, this is the product for you! It’s basically powdered sugar microscopically coated with fat, so that the sugar doesn’t absorb any moisture and stays pristine for days. It is a lifesaver for desserts like these bars, which often start to get damp and gross-looking in a matter of minutes. The texture is a little finer than powdered sugar—maybe a cross between powdered sugar and corn starch?—which you can kind of tell in the close-up pictures. Taste-wise, I can’t tell a difference between regular powdered sugar, especially since it’s usually used in very small amounts as a garnish.
Where to buy non-melting powdered sugar:
I bought mine from a local LA culinary supply store (Surfas, holla!). You can buy it from Surfas online, or King Arthur Flour also carries their own brand.
These bars taste like rainbows and happiness and small woodland creatures frolicking in dappled sunlight….or maybe just like really good, really spring-y treats. Either way, give them a try!
🧡More Bar Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
Passion Fruit Tarts
Peach Passion Pops
Passion Fruit Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 8 oz unsalted butter, (1 cup), melted and slightly cooled
- 3.5 oz granulated sugar, (1/2 cup)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8.25 oz all-purpose flour, (2 cups)
For the Filling:
- 8 large eggs
- 16.3 oz granulated sugar, (2 1/3 cups)
- 14 oz passion fruit puree, (1 1/2 cups), I used Goya frozen puree
- 2.12 oz all-purpose flour, (1/2 cup)
Instructions
To Make the Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper so that it extends up the sides, and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a bowl, 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.
- Pre-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 finished.
To Make the Filling:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, and passion fruit puree. Sift the flour on top of the egg mixture, and whisk it in as well.
- When the crust has finished pre-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 25-30 minutes until the center barely jiggles when you tap the pan.
- Once done, remove the pan from the oven and let it cool until it reaches room temperature. Then refrigerate until completely chilled.
- Remove the entire thing from the pan using the extra parchment as handles. Place it on a cutting board. Then sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.
- Use a large sharp chef’s knife to cut the sheet into bars. Wipe the knife clean between cuts to get nicely cut bars.
- Store Passion Fruit Bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer (without powdered sugar) for 3-4 months.
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
This recipe is awesome. I followed the directions to a t minus the suggestion for non-melting confectioners sugar for topping. They were absolutely perfect. Lovely tangy filling, perfect texture, nice crust. This is going into my holiday rotation! Thank you so much!
Hi Kris! Thank you so much for the recipe review and rating — it means a lot! So glad that you enjoyed the recipe and we hope you get to enjoy all season long!
These bars taste great but the time estimate is all wrong. Cook time alone is 50-60 minutes. Nobody’s finishing the recipe start to finish in 40 minutes. Please get that updated.
Hi Kate! Thank you so much for the heads up about the time estimate. I’m getting that fixed on the blog post right now! And, I’m glad that the bars turned out well for you despite the confusion. All the best to you!