Summer still has to start, but here in the jungle of Nicaragua it is always tropical. So today I am sharing these creamy passionfruit lime bars with you. We finally have limes growing on our trees. Yay! Big juicy limes who are screaming: ‘Please bake with me!’. And when life gives you limes, you bake passionfruit lime bars. Friends, let’s bake!
How I make passionfruit lime bars?
the ingredients
These creamy passionfruit lime bars are surprisingly healthy; I made the crust with gluten free oats and almonds. The filling I made with cashews, coconut cream and lime juice. They are sweetened with a bit of maple syrup and coconut sugar.
the crust
I start with pulsing almonds and gluten free oats in a high speed blender together with a pinch of salt and coconut sugar. Then I add maple syrup to it. The coconut oil I add tablespoon by tablespoon until the dough has the right consistency; it shouldn’t be too dry otherwise the crust will crumble and fall apart when baked. I don’t pour the filling on until the crust of these passionfruit lime bars has been baked in the oven and slightly cooled off.
the filling
To make the filling for these creamy passionfruit lime bars, I soak cashews in boiling hot water for an hour, then I rinse and dry them. In a high speed blender I blend the cashews together with some sea salt, coconut cream, lime zest and juice, the maple syrup and arrowroot powder (added to bind the filling) into a smooth and creamy consistency. Then I pour the filling over the baked and cooled off crust. The baking tray goes back into the oven to bake the filling.
the top layer
Both juice and seeds from fresh passionfruit are added to a saucepan and heated up. In the meantime I mix a tablespoon of arrowroot or cornstarch with a bit of water to form a paste before adding it to the heated passionfruit. I do this to avoid the passionfruit sauce to get lumpy (which will happen if you just add the arrowroot powder to the passionfruit sauce). The paste I then add to the heated passionfruit and stir it well to combine. The sauce will immediately get thicker (if too thick add a tablespoon of water). Now it is ready to be spread on top of the baked filling and refrigerated for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).
These creamy passionfruit lime bars were a first attempt and hit the spot straight away! The kids love them. SWEET! And so did our friends who tried them at our annual school picnic last week where I brought them to. I hope you will love it as much as we all do. They are:
creamy – rich – tropical – not too sweet – and surprisingly healthy – & SO delicious!
Bring these to a picnic or potluck. Give them to your kids as an after school snack. Serve them for dessert. You can’t go wrong here. Looking for more healthy treats? How about these no bake chocolate chip cookie dough bites, gluten free and vegan chocolate chip cookies, or (even better?) brownie cookies, carrot cake muffins or chocolate almond cups?
Creamy passionfruit lime bars
Equipment
- 9×9 inch or a 7×11 inch baking pan. OR double the recipe and use a 9×13 inch baking pan.
- High speed blender
Ingredients
The crust
- 1¼ cup gluten free oats
- 1¼ cup raw almonds
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar (or regular granulated sugar if not available to you)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 4-6 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
The coconut filling
- 1¼ cup raw cashew nuts
- 1¼ cup coconut cream (the hardened part at the top of a can of full fat coconut milk after refrigeration)
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
- ½ cup lime juice
- 1 tbsp lime zest
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup (plus more to taste)
The passionfruit top layer
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
- 1 cup passion fruit (juice and seeds)
- 1-2 tbsp maple syrup (to taste)
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Soak the cashews by adding them to a mixing bowl and cover them with boiling hot water. Let rest for 1 hour. Rinse and drain thoroughly.
- Preheat the oven to 350F/175C and line a 9×9 inch baking dish with parchment paper (use a piece that is big enough so it hangs over the sides for easy removal after baking).
- Add oats, almonds, sea salt and coconut sugar to a high speed blender and mix on high into a fine meal.
- In a medium mixing bowl stir to combine the oat-almond meal, maple syrup and coconut oil (start with just 4 tbsp) until a loose dough has formed. If the dough is too dry, add more coconut oil (starting with 1 tbsp).
- Transfer the mixture to the lined baking dish and spread evenly. Place a piece of parchment paper on top. Use a coffee mug (or other flat bottomed object) to compact the dough by pressing down firmly until it is well packed.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven to cool off slightly in the pan. Leave the oven on though.
- Add soaked then drained cashews to a high speed blender together with scooped out coconut cream, lime juice and zest, sea salt, arrowroot powder and maple syrup. Mix on high until creamy and smooth. Taste the filling and add more lime juice or maple syrup if you feel it is missing some. I like mine to be more limey and tangy and not overly sweet.
- Now pour the filling on top of the baked crust. Spread out evenly. Tap on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Slide into the oven.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. The edges should feel dry, the center should still be jiggly, but not liquidy any more. Take out of the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime prepare the passionfruit layer by adding passionfruit juice+seeds to a saucepan. Heat it up and at the same time make a paste by mixing arrowroot powder and water. Now add the paste to the saucepan and stir to combine. The sauce will thicken straight away. Take off the heat.
- Once both the filling and the passionfruit sauce have cooled off a bit, pour the passionfruit mixture on top of the filling and refrigerate uncovered for at least 4 hours (but I recommend to let it sit overnight so the flavors can intensify).
- To serve, slices into 16 even bars (or 9 if you want to go big). Leftovers can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
If you like this recipe, please consider rating it with the star rating system and leave a comment below. Thank you! If you make this, please tag @familicious.kitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #familicious.kitchen. You can also find us on Facebook and Pinterest.
Made these the other day with our two kids, was a hit! Super yum and healthy.. they didn’t last long! We loved that the filling was cashew and coconut cream and so limey! We made it in a round cake tin but it still came out great. Was actually quite easy to make. Will definitely make these again..!
Hi Tim, I am so glad to read this was a hit! I love that you made it with your kids! Thanks for reviewing!