Blueberry Curd Bars

Silky smooth, very berry blueberry curd baked onto a thick layer of buttery lemon shortbread. 

Even Better Blueberry Bars 

It’s not the first time I’ve redone an older recipe, but I think it’s the first I’ve decided to address it in this way, with a new recipe and post. There is already a blueberry lemon curd bar recipe on this site, but here we are with an updated version. I didn’t want to change the original, it yields a better balance of lemon to blueberry (these here are much more berry forward) and since that recipe is older and has already been enjoyed by many, I didn’t want to change what may have become a staple for some readers. 

That said; there were issues that kept coming up with those bars: how much resulting lemon blueberry juice should be used for the curd, and more worryingly, the bars were often not setting, even after baked. We’re going to rectify both of those things by using my new blueberry curd recipe, which is built to be made as *both* a spread (albeit a thicker one) and will bake nicely as bars or even a pie. 

So how do we make these better blueberry curd bars? 

Here I’m sticking with the initial formula but simplified: we’re throwing everything in a food processor and letting it do the work for us. Then, press it into the base of the pan and bake it. 

Now you already have the blueberry curd recipe, maybe you’ve even made it already? All the tips and ingredient info you need is on that page. 

But for these bars we’re going to add a bit more starch, to help them really ‘set’ so we’ll get some gorgeous clean cuts. Yes, you can whisk in the starch AFTER you’ve made the curd, when it’s completely cold, isn’t that awesome?! 

Then bake! Take them out when only the center jiggles. The edges should be set. The rest will become more solid after you take it out of the oven and it cools. Chill, then slice! 

Ok, cool…, what about BLUEBERRY MERINGUE BARS? 

Yes, we’ve done it! Bake the bars as directed below and then make a meringue to top them with. Use the meringue from this recipe. For the ones you see in the photo, I added some blueberry powder (from ground and sifted freeze dried blueberries). It didn’t fully dissolve but it did flavor it (and turned parts of the meringue blue, lol!). If I did it again I’d make this meringue, using blueberry juice – that meringue works better because it’s naturally wetter so the powder will get absorbed (you could also skip the powder in this case as the juice will give it flavor).

See also

Raspberry Curd

The Best Lemon Curd 

Blueberry Lemon Curd Bars

Blueberry Curd Bar Recipe

Blueberry Curd Bars

Silky smooth, very berry blueberry curd baked onto a thick layer of buttery lemon shortbread.

5 from 4 votes

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Ingredients

• 160 g all purpose flour
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 25 g powdered sugar
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• Zest of two lemons
• 140 g butter unsalted, cold and sliced
• Blueberry Curd from this recipe
• ½ tablespoon tapioca or cornstarch

Method

• Make the blueberry curd from this recipe. It can be made a day or up to two weeks ahead of time.
• Line an 8x8” or 9x9” square pan with parchment paper (two sheets so you have an overhang which you can use as a sling to lift it from). Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• In a food processor, add the dry ingredients and pulse just to mix it all. Add the butter and pulse until it comes together in a rough ball. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan into an even layer - take your time packing it in and smoothing it down.
• Bake the shortbread for 25-30 minutes until it’s nicely browned on the edges.
• Whisk the tapioca or cornstarch into the blueberry curd until it’s well mixed. Pour over the cooked shortbread (while it’s hot) and tilt the pan to get it into an even layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are set and only the center jiggles.
• Chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving. Slice with a hot, dry knife for clean cuts.

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