Mango Bars
These Mango Bars are no ordinary mango bars. They are the perfect marriage of a nutty macadamia shortbread crust and creamy mango pudding.
Servings: 16 squares
Equipment
- 8”x8” square baking pan
Ingredients
Crust:
- 4 oz unsalted butter room temperature, 113 g
- ¼ cup granulated sugar 50 g
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 135 g
- ½ cup Macadamia nuts ground in food processor, 68 g
- ⅛ tsp kosher salt
Mango pudding filling:
- 1 cup mango purée see notes, 280 g
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100 g
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 can coconut milk full fat, 13.5 oz, 400 ml
- 2 packets of gelatine powder 14 g
- ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Butter an 8”x8” square baking pan and line with parchment paper. Use a large square piece of parchment to completely cover the bottom and sides, make a few cuts in the corners so you can neatly tuck and fold it over the sides, fold the excess over and clip them with some metal binder clips.
- Add softened butter, sugar and vanilla to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until incorporated and fluffy.
- Stir together flour, ground macadamia nuts, and salt in a small mixing bowl to distribute evenly. Transfer the flour mixture into the stand mixer and mix until a dough forms.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and press it out into an even layer.
- Bake for 25 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely.
Make the mango pudding filling:
- Add coconut milk to a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatine powder over the room temperature milk and allow to bloom for 5 - 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the mangos by peeling, pitting, dicing and pureeing in a food processor. Run the puree through a mesh sieve to get rid of any fibrous part. Add this to a mixing bowl or a large measuring cup (using something with a spout will help with pouring later).
- Add sugar and salt to the mango puree and whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- Once all the gelatine has been hydrated, bring the coconut milk mixture to a boil over medium heat and make sure all the gelatine dissolves completely.
- Strain the coconut milk and gelatine mixture through a mesh sieve directly into the mango puree mixture. (You can use the same mesh sieve used earlier for the mango puree.) Stir until combined and smooth. Add vanilla extract and stir again to combine.
- Pour the mango pudding mixture into the baking pan over the baked macadamia nut shortbread crust. Refrigerate uncovered until set, about 2 - 3 hours.
- When ready to serve, loosen the sides and lift the whole thing out of the baking pan using the excess parchment paper as handles. Cut into squares. Keep refrigerated.
Notes
- I used 2 large champagne mangos, bought from the Asian grocery store. They are much larger than the yellow mangos you would usually find at an American grocery store, like Sprouts. These are almost as big as the red mangos.
- Once peeled and diced, you’ll get about 300 g of diced mango, roughly 1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups. Then pureed in a food processor and pressed through a strainer to remove fibrous parts, this yields about 270 - 280 g puree.
- If mango is not in season, you could use frozen mango, but you have to be careful which brand you buy. I haven’t found a brand of frozen mango that is really sweet and not too fibrous. I would suggest Asian grocery stores or Mexican markets instead of your typical American grocery stores.
- If you want to adjust the amount of sweetener used in the filling, you can start with half of the sugar. Once you finish mixing in the coconut milk, you can taste the mixture and add more sweetener to your liking.
- I used Knox unflavored gelatine powder that comes in a pack of 4 envelopes.
Nutrition
Serving: 71g | Calories: 207kcal
