16 Jun Blueberry and Lime Bars

I discovered a wonderful product called Blueberry Powder. It is made by simply freeze-drying blueberries! The resulting product is a sticky concentrated powder which adds a powerful flavour and colour boost to foods. A great way to up the nutrient content of your smoothie bowl breakfast. Or in this case, your triple layered dessert.

These striking Blueberry and Lime bars are made up of a crisp lime shortbread, topped with blueberries in a creamy lime cheesecake layer, and finished with a layer of bright blueberry mousse. A real show-stopper to wow your guests!

Ingredients:

Lime Shortbread Base:
150g butter, softened(⅔cup)
100g castor sugar (½ cup)
finely grated lime zest of 1 lime
215g flour (1½ cups)

Lime Cheesecake Layer:
250g full fat cream cheese, softened (1 cup)
finely grated zest of 2 limes (2 tsp)
385g tin of condensed milk
Juice of 3 limes (6 tbsp)
250ml cream (1 cup)
350g blueberries (fresh of frozen)*

Blueberry Mousse Layer:
5ml powdered gelatine (1 tsp)
15ml water (1 tbsp)
225g white chocolate
400ml cream (1⅔ cup)
15ml Chestnut Grove blueberry powder ( 1 tbsp – available at Faithful to Nature)

Lime zest and blueberry powder to decorate

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a large rectangular tin (I used a 22cm x 33cm tin) with greaseproof paper, leaving an extra 2 cm overhang on all four sides.
• To make the base, cream together the butter, sugar and lime zest with an electric or stand mixer for 2-3 minutes.
• Add in the flour and mix well until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
• Press the mixture into the prepared tin and push down to compress the dough.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
• For the lime cheesecake layer, beat together the softened cream cheese and lime zest.
• Mix in the condensed milk, and once combined mix in the lime juice.
• Whip the cream until you have soft peaks, then gently fold into the cream cheese mixture.
• Spread the blueberries evenly over the cooled shortbread base.
• Carefully pour the lime cheesecake mixture over the blueberries and smooth the top. Be careful not to move the blueberries too much! Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• To make the blueberry mousse, sprinkle the gelatine over the water in a small bowl and leave to sponge for a few minutes.
• Break or chop the white chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl.
• Heat 150ml of the cream together with the blueberry powder until just bubbling.
• Pour over the white chocolate. Leave to stand for a few minutes, then stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Add the gelatine mixture to the warm chocolate mixture and mix well. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• Whip the remaining 250ml of cream until you have soft peaks.
• Stir in one third of the whipped cream to loosen the mixture, then gently fold in the remaining cream until there are no more streaks.
• Pour the blueberry mousse over the lime cheesecake and smooth the top.
• Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
• When you are ready to serve, carefully lift the cheesecake out of the tin by lifting the greaseproof paper. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into squares or bars. Look at those pretty layers!
• Decorate with lime zest and extra blueberry powder and serve.

* If you are using frozen blueberries like I did, defrost and rinse well before use. Leave to dry completely on a paper towel. This helps to avoid purple juice staining the shortbread!