Thursday 17 January 2013

Guava Curd Bars

Oh man, nothing like the first post of the year. Full of expectations and hope! I got a new flash for my camera for Christmas, which I'm still trying to figure out. I have a bunch of photography tutorials saved on my Pinterest, but I never seem to find the time to spend a whole afternoon learning from it. Probably because I'm usually sick of learning anything by the time I have a free moment, haha.

Did everyone have a good holiday, though? It sure went by fast. Holy crap, it feels like November was just yesterday. I've now started my last semester of my undergrad. It's a bit daunting and unbelievable how fast these past four years flew.

But enough of my personal issues, let's talk about food! I made these jam curd bars over the Christmas holidays, just following a simple recipe for oatmeal bars and stuffing it with the goods. I never thought to combine jam and curd before, but I had leftover lime curd and guava jam so I thought: 'why not? They're both tropical!'.

I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out! They're sweet, but balanced by the tanginess of the lime curd. I added coconut to the base and topping and it adds another tropical kick. I really enjoyed these. They make a good dessert or a power snack during the day. My mom's friend went bonkers for them- he absolutely loved it!


Guava Curd Bars
Yields 1 8x8" pan
Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar (you can use brown, white or honey)
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup guava jam (if you can't find guava, use your favourite jam! Marmalade would be nice in this too)
1/2 cup lemon or lime curd

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a square 8x8" pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Once light and fluffy add the egg and 1/4 cup sugar until combined. Add in the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt until it's a big sticky mess.

Press 3/4 of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the curd and jam evenly over the base and crumble the rest of the batter over the top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!