Lilikoi is the Hawaiian word for passion fruit, and lilikoi bars are Hawaii's answer to the lemon bar. A slab of butter shortbread topped with a tart fruit custard, baked together until the custard sets, chilled, cut into squares, dusted with powdered sugar. Where lemon bars taste bright and astringent, lilikoi bars taste tropical and floral over the same brisk acid. Halve a passion fruit and the scent hits you all at once: guava, grapefruit, pineapple. That perfume carries straight through baking into the finished bar.
This is bake-sale and potluck food in my world. Church bazaars, school fundraisers, work potlucks, beach picnics. I bring them because they travel well, slice cleanly, and the flavor is unmistakably Hawaii. Lilikoi vines are fast-growing and common in home gardens here, so during peak season my neighbors hand off grocery bags of fruit they can't use. Off-island, frozen passion fruit pulp does the same job.
At a glance
16 bars (9 x 9 inch pan)
20 minutes
40 minutes
Easy
Ingredients
For the shortbread base
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the lilikoi custard
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup pure lilikoi (passion fruit) juice or strained pulp, from about 8 fresh fruits, or use frozen passion fruit puree
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons whole milk or cream
To finish
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, for dusting
- Strips of lilikoi seeds reserved from juicing (optional, for the top)
Equipment
- 9 x 9 inch square baking pan
- Parchment paper (large enough to create a sling)
- Food processor (or pastry cutter / two knives)
- Whisk and fine-mesh strainer
- Sharp knife for cutting
Method
- Prep the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Line a 9 x 9 inch pan with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides as a sling for lifting the bars out. A light spray of nonstick on the un-parchmented sides keeps the custard from grabbing.
- Get the lilikoi. If using fresh fruit, halve each lilikoi over a fine-mesh strainer set in a bowl. Scoop the pulp into the strainer and press the juice through with the back of a spoon. You want 1/2 cup of liquid, which runs about 8 to 10 backyard-size fruits. If using frozen puree, thaw and measure straight from the carton.
- Make the shortbread. Pulse the flour, powdered sugar, and salt together in a food processor. Add the cold butter cubes and the vanilla. Pulse in short bursts until the mixture looks like coarse, sandy crumbs that just begin to clump. About 15 to 20 pulses. Do not overprocess into a dough ball.
- Press and pre-bake. Tip the crumbs into the prepared pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup or your fingers to press them into a firm, even layer across the bottom. Bake at 350°F for 18 to 20 minutes, until the edges are pale golden and the center looks set. Leave the oven on.
- Mix the custard while the base bakes. Whisk the granulated sugar, flour, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until smooth. Whisk in the lilikoi juice, lemon juice, and milk until fully combined. Pour the custard through the strainer one more time to catch any unbroken egg threads.
- Bake the custard layer. Pull the hot shortbread base out of the oven. Pour the custard directly over the warm base. Pouring onto a warm crust helps the two layers set as one piece. Return to the oven and bake 18 to 22 minutes, until the custard is set around the edges and just barely jiggles in a 2-inch circle in the middle when you shake the pan. The top should not have browned.
- Cool, then chill. Cool the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 2 hours, until the custard is fully cold and firm. Slicing warm yields a runny center.
- Cut and dust. Lift the slab out using the parchment sling. Trim the edges if you want clean sides. Cut into 16 squares (4 x 4 grid) with a sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving. The sugar dissolves on contact with the custard if it sits for hours.
Notes from a local cook
The shortbread has to pre-bake. Skipping or shortening the pre-bake gives you a soggy crust under a perfect custard. The base should be lightly golden and dry to the touch before any custard hits it. Twenty minutes is the right window for a 9 x 9 pan.
Fresh lilikoi vs. frozen. Fresh backyard lilikoi has more perfume than frozen puree, but also more variability. A tart yellow lilikoi reads sharper than a sweeter purple one. Taste the juice before you measure and add a teaspoon more sugar to the custard if it is on the brisk end. Frozen passion fruit puree from Goya, La Fe, and similar brands is consistent and reliable, and it is what I reach for any time I'm baking these in bulk.
Save a few seeds for the top. When you strain the juice, set aside a tablespoon of the black seeds. Stir them into the custard mixture just before pouring and they will float to the top as it bakes, giving the finished bar a clear visual cue. Optional, and only worth doing with fresh fruit.
Storage. Bars keep covered in the fridge for 4 days. They freeze well undusted. Layer between parchment in an airtight container, freeze up to 2 months, thaw in the fridge overnight, then dust before serving. The custard texture survives the freeze beautifully.
While You're on the Islands
Eat it made by someone else. Lilikoi bars are overwhelmingly a home-cook tradition, and the best ones I've eaten came from the back table at a church bazaar or a school fundraiser. They also turn up at island bakeries and farmers-market dessert stalls, but availability shifts week to week, so I'd ask before making a special trip.
Buy the fruit fresh. If you're staying somewhere with a kitchen, look for backyard-grown lilikoi at a weekend farmers market — the KCC Farmers Market in Kapahulu (Saturday mornings) and the Hilo Farmers Market both reliably have a vendor selling lilikoi by the bag in season (roughly June through January). Wrinkled, dimpled skin means ripe and ready, not old — that's when the fruit is sweetest.
Bring It Home
What to stock up on before you fly home: a few cartons of frozen passion fruit (lilikoi) purée pack flat in a cooler bag and keep this recipe — and the chiffon pie — on the menu well after the trip ends.
What you can substitute, what you can't: bottled or frozen passion fruit purée (Goya, La Fe) works just as well as fresh fruit and is actually more consistent — no need to chase down fresh lilikoi once you're home. What doesn't substitute well is the fruit's tartness itself; don't reach for a sweeter tropical juice as a stand-in, or the custard loses the sharp edge that makes these bars work. If you want to keep going on island sweets, see our butter mochi recipe.
Where to try this in Hawaii
