Blood Orange Bars; buttery golden shortbread topped with a smooth and zingy blood orange custard.
February has few redeeming qualities.
It’s (arguably) preferable to January, those with generous lovers might get more chocolates and roses than normal, otherwise it feels very much like a filler month. The festivities are long finished, spring and summer are still out of arm’s reach.
What it does have are blood oranges. LOTS of them.
Growing up in Scotland, it’s not a fruit I ever saw in person. However, in my adult life in Italy, I can’t move for them. Sliced into Spritzes, juiced for breakfast, snacked upon endlessly. They’re affordable, they’re nutritious, they’re beautiful, and they’re very bloody tasty.
That combination of sunny orange and deep velvety red inside the same fruit is irresistible, and not only for the eyes. What the average orange offers in fresh acidity, the blood orange offers in rounded sweetness.
Today’s recipe for blood orange bars is both a celebration of this short-season fruit, and somewhat an act of necessity to sweeten up this never-ending month. It takes inspiration from an old favourite, lemon bars. That zingy zestiness remains, though gentler, more fragrant, and distinctly wintrier.
Buttery golden shortbread, with just the right balance of crunch and crumble, just as any Scottish Granny would like. A thick layer of smooth and creamy custard, infused with the zest and juice of bright blood oranges. Sweet, a little bit sour, soft, crisp. It’s a two-layer treat with many dimensions.
Like almost all recipes here at Maverick Baking, this one isn’t too complicated. You’ll need a little bit of patience as that generous layer of shortbread bakes to golden perfection, and as the custard chills, but not too much hands-on time at all. A wee bit of whisking is required, but if you don’t fancy the arm workout, you can absolutely use an electric one to speed up and simplify things even more.
You will need to use a little lemon juice with the blood orange juice in these blood orange bars for both flavour and consistency. Acidity really is a science in baking!
These blood orange bars keep well for days in the fridge. They’re perfect as a sweet afternoon treat, a light dessert, or something nice to take over to a friend who might need cheering up. As you may have guessed from the recipe they take inspiration from, they are also quite customisable too! Why not try swapping the blood orange for grapefruit or lime? Why not add some cocoa powder in place of some of the flour in the shortbread base? Why not add some vanilla or cinnamon for extra depth?
Ingredients
For the shortbread base:
- 225g (1 ¾ cups) plain flour
- 175g (11 ½ tbsp) cold salted butter, cut into cubes
- 75g (⅓ cup) golden caster sugar
- Pinch of salt
For the blood orange custard:
- 4 large egg yolks
- 400g (1 ½ cups) sweetened condensed milk
- Zest of 2 blood oranges
- Juice of 1 blood orange
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
For the shortbread base:
- First, preheat your oven – 180°C / 160°C fan / 350°F / gas mark 4.
- Line a reasonably deep 20cm x 20cm (8 x 8in) or 30 x 20cm (12 x 8in) cake tin with greaseproof paper.
- Measure your flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl and add your cubed butter.
- Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles chunky breadcrumbs (you can do this by hand or with a food processor).
- Use either your fingers or the back of a spoon to press this mixture down well into your baking tray, it should press into a firm sheet of shortbread dough. (If you feel the mixture is too crumbly, add a little water to help it stick together!)
- Once evenly pressed in, prick the dough all over with a fork to prevent it rising too much.
- Bake the shortbread for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and firm to touch.
For the blood orange custard:
- Place your egg yolks in a large bowl (you can save the whites for omelettes or for a meringue topping!) and whisk vigorously by hand, or with an electric whisk, for about a minute to lighten them.
- Add the zest and juices and whisk for another 2 minutes to ensure the filling is lovely and airy.
- Pour this mousse-like mixture onto the shortbread.
- Place into the oven – at 160 C / 140 C fan / 325 F / gas mark 3 – to bake for a final 15 minutes.
- By this stage the custard should be set or just have the SLIGHTEST wobble, so remove it from the oven and allow it to cool.
- Chill the cooled blood orange bars in the fridge for at least two hours before slicing and serving.
- Enjoy!
BE A MAVERICK: why not swap the blood orange for grapefruit instead to switch up the flavour?
These Blood Orange Bars will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days, but are best enjoyed fresh!
You may also like:
