Liliko'i (Passion Fruit) Bars

{Things I love}

peeling oranges close to your body so that you smell fresh and zesty all day.

new blog lovin': cooking after five.

pinterest.

everything à la mode.

thought catalog.

this song.

passion fruit.

when something doesn't come out as expected, but is perfect nonetheless... case in point, these ooey gooey liliko'i bars.

I've loved passion fruit for some time now, but for the life of me, I haven't been able to get my hands on any! I've scoured specialty markets, ethnic markets, farmer's markets. Nowhere. Not one to be found. When I was in Hawaii, although it wasn't passion fruit season, passion fruit things were everywhere - in sodas, candies and more. 

Anyways, I was strolling around Wholesome Choice with my sister one day after a nice gym session and there it was, glowing in the frozen foods section: Goya passionfruit puree. Win win win. I had no idea what I was going to do with it at the time, but I had to get my grubby paws on it nonetheless. 

My sister loves lemon bars so I had the idea of making passion fruit bars. What a lovely idea that was! It's your basic combination of buttery shortbread and sweet-tart-silky curd with a healthy dose of powdered sugar. I used a basic lemon bar recipe and just switched out the lemon juice for passion fruit puree.

At first, I thought I really screwed up these bars. Like the idiot that I am, having trouble with getting the bars out of the pan, I inverted the bars onto a cutting board without the slightest thought that sticky curd would stick to a cutting board... yeah, I really wasn't thinking. But curd being curd, I just scraped it off and did my best to re-spread it onto the shortbread base. I let it set a little in the freezer, then topped it off with some powdered sugar. Crisis averted.

The curd was very... curd-y, if that helps to explain it at all. I thought it would stiffen up some more, but it was still too liquidy for me to possibly cut clean squares. Even the shortbread base was a bit too delicate when I first tried to cut it. In the end, all of this was a lesson in patience for me. After letting the bars rest in the fridge for a good day, they turned out perfect. I used a hot knife to re-cut clean edges, topped them with a bit more powdered sugar and they were like sunshine you could tuck in your pocket!

Oh, and another thing I love. When friends (aka D) love what I love to do:

Liliko'i/ Passionfruit Bars

Yields: 9 squares

Adapted from here.

For the shortbread base:

10 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tbsn. powdered sugar

2 tbsn. sugar

1 1/4 cups flour

For the lemon curd topping:

4 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup passion fruit puree

4 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tbsn. powdered sugar, for dusting

To make the base, place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 F. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the sugars, then add the butter and cream until light and fluffy. Add half of the flour, mix to combine, then add the rest and combine until mostly incorporated (it will still look a bit crumbly). Pat the dough into a greased 8x8" pan and use a fork to prick it all over. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and the top is pale golden but not brown. Set aside.

To make the passionfruit curd topping, set up a strainer on top of a bowl; set aside. in a heavy saucepan, beat the egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Stir in the passionfruit puree, butter and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes until thickened and resembles a hollandaise sauce. It should thickly coat the back of a wooden spoon but still be liquid enough to pour - a candy thermometer should read 196 degrees. Do not allow it to boil or else it will curdle. Once thickened, pour the mixture through the strainer to remove any coarse residues. Lower the temperature of the oven to 300 F. Pour the passionfruit curd over the shortbread base and bake for 10 minutes. Once baked, cool the bars until completely cooled, then refrigerate the bars for 30 minutes or longer before cutting it into bars. Once cut, dust some powdered sugar on top and enjoy!

French Macarons Galore!

Fellow food bloggers/ bakers, I have a question for you! So I have this problem... sometimes, when I bake the various things that I bake, I really want to be truthful in my description of how the things taste, how they turned out, or how difficult they were to make. The most difficult thing for me though is how things taste.

I know, I know! It really shouldn't be that hard to tell you guys if something is delicious or not but sometimes I really over-think things and examine things to the fine details rather than focusing on the overall deliciousness of the thing! Weird, but I can't help it. Anyway, that's why I always have taste testers - they sure do help a lot with my weird taste bud issues!

So, after all that, on to these macarons! Along with the lavender & vanilla bean macarons I posted a while ago, I made ALL of these too! It was my best friend's birthday and I knew that these would make thee perfect gift, and would let me practice my macaron-making skills, well so I'd hoped.

Weirdly enough, some came out perfect. As for the others, I could not say the same. This was probably due to the fact that I was rushing my macaron making. At first, when tasting them, I was blinded by their slight imperfections. I overcooked the green tea macarons a bit, so they were a bit brown. They were also oddly shaped and didn't have the perfect little feet that I so dreamed of! The lemon though, looked flawless. But besides all of this, my friend told me that they were everything she could have asked for. Yay!

Her favorite were the green tea flavored ones, both the adzuki bean and the passionfruit. I liked the passionfruit a lot because of the tangy and sweet passionfruit buttercream. I also really liked the earthiness that the green tea added to the shells. The lemon mascarpone were also really delicious, super tangy but sweet and I think one of the most beautiful, with perfect smooth shells and some feet!

Green Tea & Adzuki Bean French Macarons

Yields: 2 dozen macarons

Adapted from here.

For the macarons:

1 cup powdered sugar + 4 tsp.

1/2 cup almond powder or meal + 2 tsp.

2 tsp. matcha powder

2 large egg whites, room temperature

5 tbsn. granulated sugar

green food coloring

For the adzuki bean SMBC:

1/2 cup sugar

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup prepared and sweetened Adzuki beans, or more if desired

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2 inch) ready. In a blender or food processor, grind together the powdered sugar, almond powder/ meal and matcha to make sure there are no lumps. Add the green food coloring to your desired shade of green into the granulated sugar and mix until combined. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the dyed sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes. Carefully fold in the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is smooth and there are no streaks of egg whites, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag. Pipe the batter on the prepared baking sheet in 1 inch circles (about 1 tbsn. each), evenly spaced 1 inch apart. Tap the baking sheet a few times on the counter to flatten the macarons and let air 'dry' for 1 hour. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Let cool completely before removing them.

To make the SMBC, put the sugar and egg white in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick, shiny meringue, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment, and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Beat on high speed until it is thick and very smooth, about 6 - 10 minutes. To assemble the macarons, pair the shells off into similar sizes. Take one shell and pipe about 1 tbsn. of the adzui SMBC onto it. Top with the other shell and enjoy!

Lemon Mascarpone French Macarons

Yields: 2 dozen macarons

Adapted from here. Filling recipe here.

For the macarons:

1 cup powdered sugar + 2 tbsn.

1/2 cup almond powder or meal + 1 tbsn.

2 large egg whites, room temperature

5 tbsn. granulated sugar

yellow food coloring

For the lemon cream filling:

4 oz. mascarpone cheese, room temperature

2 - 3 tbsn. lemon curd

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Have a pastry bad with a plain tip (about 1/2 inch) ready. In a blender or food processor, grind together the powdered sugar and almond powder/ meal to make sure there are no lumps. Add the yellow food coloring into the granulated sugar and mix until combined. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the dyed sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes. Carefully fold in the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is smooth and there are no streaks of egg whites, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag. Pipe the batter on the prepared baking sheet in 1 inch circles (about 1 tbsn. each), evenly spaced 1 inch apart. Tap the baking sheet a few times on the counter to flatten the macarons and let air 'dry' for 1 hour. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Let cool completely before removing them.

To make the filling, beat all the ingredients together until thick and creamy. Chill for 2 - 3 hours before using. To assemble the macarons, first pair off the shells into similar sizes. Take one shell and pipe the lemon mixture on top (about 1 tbsn. each), then top with the other macaron shell. Enjoy!

Green Tea & Passionfruit French Macarons

Yields: 2 dozen macarons

Adapted from here.

For the macarons:

1 cup powdered sugar + 4 tsp.

1/2 cup almond powder or meal + 2 tsp.

2 tsp. matcha powder

2 large egg whites, room temperature

5 tbsn. granulated sugar

green food coloring, if stronger green color is desired

For the passionfruit SMBC:

1/2 cup sugar

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

passionfruit syrup, if desired (found at Asian supermarkets)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2 inch) ready. In a blender or food processor, grind together the powdered sugar, almond powder/ meal and matcha to make sure there are no lumps. Add the green food coloring to your desired shade of green into the granulated sugar and mix until combined. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the dyed sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes. Carefully fold in the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is smooth and there are no streaks of egg whites, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag. Pipe the batter on the prepared baking sheet in 1 inch circles (about 1 tbsn. each), evenly spaced 1 inch apart. Tap the baking sheet a few times on the counter to flatten the macarons and let air 'dry' for 1 hour. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Let cool completely before removing them.

To make the SMBC, put the sugar and egg white in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick, shiny meringue, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment, and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Beat on high speed until it is thick and very smooth, about 6 - 10 minutes. Add passionfruit syrup to taste, but be careful not to add too much or else the buttercream will start to separate. To assemble the macarons, pair the shells off into similar sizes. Take one shell and pipe about 1 tbsn. of the passionfruit SMBC onto it. Top with the other shell and enjoy!