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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.
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.
Here are my two secret weapons for making these bars: frozen passion fruit pulp and non-melting powdered sugar. 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 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.
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!
Passion Fruit Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 8 oz unsalted butter, 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)
- 1 1/2 cups passion fruit puree, I used one 14 oz Goya pouch
- 2.12 oz all-purpose flour, (1/2 cup)
Instructions
To Make the Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9×13 pan with foil 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.
- 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 done.
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 filling is done 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. It’s done when 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. For the cleanest cuts, refrigerate the bars and cut them when completely cold. To cut, remove the bars from the pan using the foil as handles. Use a large sharp chef’s knife and wipe it off often between cuts. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar before serving. Store Passion Fruit Bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
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.
Click here to learn more about baking measurements and conversion.
I knew you were gonna do something awesome with that puree!
Secondly, the powdered sugar! Oh my word. As someone who’s taken powdered sugar to gatherings to dust it on at the last minute… Mind=blown. This is one of the many reasons I read and love your blog!
Love this! I grew up eating passion fruit and love it’s tangy, sour flavor. Here are a couple other ideas…my mom always made us smoothies (just pulp, milk, ice & sugar) and I use it to make a passion fruit vodka martini!
Thanks for the ideas! I’ve tried adding it to smoothies but I felt guilty adding a lot of sugar, so I ended up with a super-sour drink. Guess I should just suck it up and get on the sugar-in-smoothies train! 🙂
These are simply lovely! I adore the tropical spin on a classic treat. And that tip about the non melting powdered sugar?? Thank you!!!
These sound sublime! I absolutely love your pictures too – they look so fresh and sunny!
Thanks Rosie! It is freakin’ gorgeous in LA right now so I have to celebrate it before it gets gross and hot.
it’s so yummy gorgious
Hello!!!! And…..ohmygosh! I was all set to go to sleep when I ran across your site and this amazing post on passion fruit!!! (Trying to remain calm…. failing a bit.). I was introduced to fresh passion fruit in Punta Cana a couple summers ago and then found the very same frozen pulp when we returned home. Other than adding it to smoothies (wow!) and making a refrigerator jam (toast goes to a whole new level!), I’ve not run across any recipe using it, but have been imagining a lemon bar-type thing…. And voila! Here it is! I *cannot* wait to give it (and your others) a try. Thank you! Here’s to passion fruit dreams!
Hi Jorie, thanks for the awesome comment! I am obviously obsessed with passion fruit and I’m so glad to meet another devotee! What’s your recipe for the refrigerator jam? That sound amazing! And please do let me know what you think if you give these a try–I hope you love them!
Ho-Lee-Cow! I found your site via Pinterest.
These look completely amazing and I can not wait to run down to my local Mercado to see if I can find passion fruit pulp. Hubs and I went to HI a couple of months ago and fell in love with passion fruit. I have since been resigned to the idea that I will never again partake of it (since buying them individually for recipes that require large amounts) isn’t very practical. So – Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I wonder if you have any sugar-free passion fruit recipes? I love sour and bitter flavors, like dipping raw rhubarb in salt. I was just diagnosed with diabetes, and need to drastically change my eating and lifestyle patterns of exercise.
Most diabetic foods are very bland. I know there are many candies made with sugar alcohols that taste good. I would like to find other desserts that are sugar-free.
Thanks!
Could I do with mango puree instead?
Hi Joyce, I haven’t personally tried it with mango, but my guess is that it would work just fine. If you do give it a try, please let me know how it goes!
Love all your Passion Fruit recipes! I first bought some very expensive passion fruit puree from a chef’s supplier [AUISwiss], because my daughter wanted a passion fruit tart, and I had tasted their puree. I didn’t even know what a passion fruit looked like. I just liked the taste.
I lived in San Diego CA. A male neighbor makes savory foods. I make desserts! Crazy, outrageous, sweet, items from my teeny test kitchen. He, along with my husband and family help me by consuming all, ONLY AFTER the photos. He brings me fresh lemons for lemon sorbet and more. Fresh tomatoes and delicious savory dishes.
One day he brings me a bag of wrinkly and smooth purple round things and asked me and my adult daughter to guess what they were. We said mini eggplants, plums, figs? I smelled them and they kind of smelled like a date or really sweet something delicious. He was delighted and mischievous that he knew something I didn’t. When he announced PASSION FRUIT, our eyes bulged and our mouths started watering! FRESH PASSION FRUIT! My mind went crazy!
Without minutes, I started researching about preparation, seeds, etc. In the meantime, my husband (76 yrs old- I am only in my 70’s, oh, I mean 29 again) comes out, grabs a few, cuts them in half, scoops out the insides, throws into a food processor with enough water to cover and pulses a few times! “To release the pulp from the seeds” He says kind of arrogantly. We all look at him with kind of jealous looks. He explained that while we lived on a Caribbean island for 12 years, and I was visiting the children in San Diego, “he” researched and experimented with passion fruit from the natives! and didn’t tell me!
While “I” was in the islands, I found you on About: and made at least 100 of your recipes! All delicious. Have beautiful photos. Now, I found you again while we are now back in beautiful So California.
The smell of the fresh passion fruit was amazing! Again, our mouths were watering.
I strained the seeds and some pieces of white pulp while saving the watered juice, added some sugar, heated, cooled, used ice cream maker and made the most delicious PASSION FRUIT SORBET!
Found that the seeds are entirely edible and full of great health benefits, so added a few for decorations. Everyone who tasted it loved it! He is bringing more bags of passion fruits. Making the sorbet was soooo quick and easy.
Sorry to make anyone envious about the wonderful resources in San Diego.
Thanks for all the wonderful passion fruit recipes.
Angellarts, what a fun comment! Thanks for visiting my blog! I’ve had the AUISwiss passion fruit puree, and while it is delicious, you’re right–it’s pricey. You are SO lucky to have access to fresh passion fruit! I’ll try not to hold it against you. 🙂 I hope you’re able to find all sorts of awesome ways to enjoy them on behalf of the rest of us. 😉
At 47, I had my 1st passion fruit this year.
They are expensive at $150-$1.75, but I love those sweet-tart little seeds.
I wish I knew how to make them into a drink.
Walmart is the only store where you can go to buy Welch’s newest half gallon carts of Passion Fruit drink & Kiwi Fruit drink.
They taste oh, so wonderful!
I tried to get Carnival Foods in Lancaster, OH to carry them, giving the manager the name & UPC code, but he got back with me explaining that his distributor doesn’t carry that product.
I was a little peeved! If I were any grocery store that can’t get wonderful new products, I’d leave that distributor and find another who could meet not only my need for regular items, but also for those fantastic new items that customers long to have to break the feeling of their consumers every day monotony!
Everyone needs to try this product! Walmart, YEAH!!!
Passion fruit… mmm… ^____^
Do you think it’ll work out with jackfruit?
(I know, it’s a silly-lazy question, but I’d like to hear your thoughts, *before* I use something expensive…)
Thanks!
Hi! I’m sorry to say I actually don’t have any experience with jackfruit! Do you often substitute jackfruit for passion fruit in recipes? If you’ve had success doing it in the past, then it would probably work here too. You can definitely substitute other sour and semi-sour juices, like lemon, lime, grapefruit, and mango puree in this recipe. So if jackfruit puree has a similar consistency and is also fairly sour, it should be okay! (If it is too sweet, the amount of sugar in the recipe will be out of whack and your bars will probably be too sweet.) I’m sorry to not be of more help! If you do try it with jackfruit, please let me know how it goes!
Heads up to anyone looking at this– I don’t know whether the packaged passion fruit purée is much more sour, but I did this with fresh passion fruits and it calls for far too much sugar! I could tell just looking at the recipe that 2 1/3 c sugar was preposterous, so I decreased it to just 2 cups, but next time I will use 1.5 instead. The crust is excellent though! Really buttery with a good kick of salt.
Thanks for the feedback, Yael! The puree I buy is quite sour–I wouldn’t say it’s lemon juice level, but it’s close. So the sugar amount is to compensate for the sourness. I can imagine that fresh passion fruit isn’t quite so intense, so reducing the sugar sounds like a good call. I appreciate your sharing your experience for other readers.
Hii Elizabeth.. Could I do with mango pulp instead?
Can u suggest me regarding this..
Yes, you definitely can! It’s a great substitute. Since mango is much sweeter than passion fruit, I’d suggest either adding a few tablespoons of lemon juice to make the mango tarter, or reducing a bit of the sugar in the filling. Let me know how it turns out!
I made these for the first time this Christmas and they are an unqualified hit! I adore passionfruit but like Mike I’d like to do a mango variation too. I’ll make the recupe adjustments and give it a shot.The original recipe bars were absolutely to die for!
Hello! How do you defrost your passion fruit pulp? I bought Goya last week as well and the bag I stuck in the fridge leaked somehow. The contents also seemed like they were separated in liquid form.
Thank you for the recipe! I actually have been planning to make it for over a year now (have had the passionfruit pulp in my freezer for 1 year), finally got around to making these for a neighborhood bbq last night.
They. Are. So. Good. Took me right back to my favorite tropical vacations (kinda am tempted to book a new one soon).
I used my own recipe for the shortbread crust that I normally use with lemon bars and reduced the amount of sugar to an even 2 cups. I think I will probably reduce the sugar even more just because I like things a little more tart.
Love these!
Made these today and they turned out great! My husband loves the tartness of passion fruit, so I reduced the sugar by 1/2 c., and may even reduce by another 1/3 in the future (I was using Goya frozen purée). I think I’ll also try these with Goya’s frozen guava!
Hi I’m making these from our home grown passion fruit and so excited! Just to clarify was that 8oz, as in 2 sticks of butter for the crust or, 8 tbsp so only one stick?
We have a friend in California who periodically mails fresh fruit from her garden to us in NJ. The latest box contained about a dozen passionfruit. I was excited to try this recipe, but they only rendered about a 1/4 cup of juice. I substituted the remainder with guava nectar. Turned out delicious!
Hey Liz, That sounds amazing, also getting fresh fruit sounds delightful. I am happy it worked out, thanks so much!!
This recipe is so good. Just like a lemon bar, but more exotic. The buttery crust is perfect.
Thank you, Elle! It’s one of my very favorites–I love passion fruit flavors!
These bars are awesome! Just made a batch and everyone loved them! 25 mins exactly for the shortbread and custard. Perfect. Next time I will try cutting the butter into the flour mixture to see if it can make a more crumbly base. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Dina, I am so glad to hear it! That sounds like a great plan, thanks for the feedback!
My neighbor’s passion fruit vine drops so much fruit on our yard, I had to find something other than pavlova and eating them on my cottage cheese. This recipe was a mega hit with my husband and guests. Glad I can freeze the juice for future baking too!
Hey Marian, I am so glad you found this recipe then! That sounds like it worked out perfect, and I am thrilled to hear it was enjoyed by so many!! Thanks for your feedback!
Oh. My. Goodness! I made these Passion Fruit Bars and they are one of the best dessert bars I’ve ever made. Highly recommend them! The crust stayed just crisp enough but easy to bite, very buttery tasting. The texture and flavor of the filling was perfection. I did read the comments and reduced the sugar to 1.5 cups and they tasted just sweet enough/tart enough to me. Enjoy!
Hey Juliet, I am thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe so much! I love hearing that you were able to adjust it and make it perfect for you, thank you so much for your feedback!
We have a huge passion fruit vine covering a tree in our yard in FL and I am struggling to find cool things to do with the fruit. It just drops a ton of fruit all the time. (at least this time of year)
Hey Priscilla, that sounds amazing! I am jealous, I hope this recipe is one you love! I have a few recipes on my site that use passion fruit! I will link them for you. https://www.sugarhero.com/coconut-macaroon-tart/ https://www.sugarhero.com/passion-fruit-raspberry-pound-cake/ https://www.sugarhero.com/passion-fruit-curd/ https://www.sugarhero.com/passion-fruit-tarts/ https://www.sugarhero.com/peach-passion-pops/ I hope these recipes help!! I would love to hear how it goes if you give any of them a try!
These are lovely. I will mention that they did not truly solidify until they had spent a night in the refrigerator. Maybe that was not everyone’s experience, but for me, I’m glad I didn’t try to cut them into bars before thoroughly chilling them. They also taste more passionfruity chilled, for some reason. A great take on classic lemon bars and so easy!
Hi Jennie, I am so thrilled to hear they came together for you! Thank you for your response, if you are interested in trouble shooting and see why it may have taken longer to set feel free to shoot me an email. Thank you for your response! I am glad you enjoyed them!
These are so delicious! I love maracuya. I can’t get the fresh ones here, but I use the frozen pulp for juice and I’ve made maracuya cheesecake a couple of times. I’ve been wanting to make maracuya bars for a while now and I thought I might have to develop my own recipe. I was so happy to find yours and even happier when I tasted the results. It’s everything I dreamed it would be and it’s a big hit with everyone else. Thank you!
Aloha Sugar Hero,
Made this with the Passion fruit concentrate from The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley. OMG, wow! So easy and sooooo good!!! The concentrate calls for a 1:1 ratio with water; however, this was too tart for my taste and I went with 1:2 ratio and I got a more smooth and palatable flavor. Thank you for a wonderful and easy recipe that will now be a regular go to dessert for all occasions!!!
This crust was amazing! So easy and was still crunchy after two days in the fridge. No soggy bottom! Will have to adapt this to other pies/bars. 🙂 Also, i had fresh passion fruit juice (frozen) from the asian market that had seeds and pulp in it. even after straining out the pulp and chopping it a bit more, it made for some unclean cuts when cutting the bars. Still delicious though, and the seeds gave it extra texture.
Using fresh passion fruit juice sounds amazing!! So glad to hear that you loved them Brenda!
Feel this is way to sweet and nullifies the flavor of the passion fruit.
I’ve never had passion fruit before but I ordered some from a vendor here in Beijing who imports exotic foods in small quantities and delivers to the door. These came from GuangXi province and they were incredibly tart. I couldn’t imagine how I would use them. This was perfect! My daughter’s favorite treat is lemon squares, but she said this rivals them! Thanks!
Oh my gosh I’m so jealous you found fresh passion fruit! It’s hard to track down where I live. Thrilled to hear that they worked well in this recipe and that the bars were a hit!
The metric measurement for the flour in the crust is incorrect. I think you meant 360g not 3.6 kg
Hi Amanda, thanks for the head’s up! The recipe has been corrected now.
We had a bunch of passionfruit from our garden and this was the perfect recipe for them!!! We can’t stop eating them and will have to keep making them to share with friends and family!
Thank you for your feedback, Catherine! I wish I had passionfruit in my garden!
Delicious! Will make again!
Thanks Lorena!
These are SO GOOD. I used 1.5 cups sugar in the filling and it was plenty (though I do like my sweet-sour desserts on the sour side). I also didn’t use foil or parchment under the crust, fwiw; parchment paper is expensive! I just sprayed the pan and it was totally fine. That said, everything else about this recipe was PERFECT. I had a package of Goya passionfruit puree in the freezer that I needed to use up, and now I immediately want to buy more just to make these again.
Hi Rachel! I’m so glad you enjoyed these fruit bars – they are delightful. Thanks for sharing!
We’ve made these several times. They’re so easy and even better than lemon bars. We get the passion fruit pulp as the Latino market nearby. 🙂 Thanks for your excellent recipes!
Aren’t these delicious!? I just love passion fruit! Thank you for sharing! 🙂