Its citrus season! Not only are we eating a ton of oranges at home, but I'm also baking with them! But not just any citrus: blood oranges!! I finally got the courage to bake with these beautiful blood oranges! They have this dark maroon flesh and the juice is this beautiful dark red hue. So I used the blood orange juice to make some blood orange raspberry bars! They're a beautiful pink hue!
Blood Oranges
Blood oranges are a variety of oranges that are known for their maroon or dark blood red flesh! They taste slightly more tart than navel or mandarin oranges. Almost like oranges with berries mixed into. That's why I thought the raspberry jam would pair perfectly with the creamy blood orange filling of the bars.
The filling is sweet, creamy and tart. It is made with sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks and blood orange juice. That's it! Very simple.
The bonus is having the layer of sweet and tart raspberry jam.
The crust is a nice simple shortbread that comes together in minutes. The citrus flavor is enhanced by the blood orange zest in the crust. Can't let any part of that beautiful orange go to waste.
Recipe Tips
The trick to this recipe is really that you have to use freshly squeezed orange juice. You do not want to grab a bottle of orange juice from the refrigerator because it's diluted with sugar and water, which will change the taste and texture.
But luckily once you have your fresh squeezed orange juice ready, this recipe comes together in a matter of minutes.
The other important tip is to chill the bars completely (refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight) that way the tart layer gets to set up properly.
Also remember to line your baking pan with parchment paper. The orange tart and jam layers like to seep down over the crust layer and then the entire tart sticks to the pan. Which is not terrible, but then you do have to put in extra effort to remove from the pan!
You might be also be interested in Apple Cheesecake Tart with Almond Shortbread Crust, Orange and White Cookies, White Chocolate Orange Saffron Burfi
📖 Recipe
Blood Orange Raspberry Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup butter softened at room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon blood orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
Filling
- 4 egg yolks at room temperature
- ¾ cup blood orange juice 4-5 blood oranges
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoon raspberry jam
Instructions
Make the Crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 8-inch square pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- In a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together butter, sugar, orange zest and salt until the mixture is airy.
- Add flour and slowly incorporate into the butter sugar mixture. Once combined, press the dough into the prepared pan. Prick with the dough all over with a fork. Bake 15 minutes.
Make the Filling
- Whisk together the yolks, sweetened condensed milk and blood orange juice until combined.
Make the Bars
- Once the dough is baked, immediately spread the raspberry jam over the dough. Then pour the Blood Orange filling over the jam. Bake until set, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Allow the bars to cool in the pan and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cut into 16 bars, serve with powdered sugar and fresh raspberries
Nutrition
adapted from this recipe
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