Lilikoi’s bold flavor perfect for baking

I call my husband a fruit hunter. When he hikes in the mountains with one of our kids on his back, his eagle eye can spot any just-ripe mountain apple or a lone lilikoi vine among the leaves. He will bring along his picking pole or quickly climb a tree. My daughter has become an apprentice of sorts as she gathers up the fruit he throws down. She will eat every guava he can find right then and there. There are few things better than fruit on the trail, but an armload of fresh lilikoi for my fruit bowl is a close second.

The first time I had a passion fruit, I was surprised by its dark seeds and the confusion of crunch, juice and sharp flavor. The watered-down version you can buy at the store is nothing compared with the real thing, kind of like the taste difference between a banana-flavored hard, yellow candy and the actual fruit.

The liquid strained from the fruit is a concentrate for other applications, and its acidity is similar to lemons. Lilikoi is often better suited to cooking and baking than mango or guava, which lose their star-quality flavor and texture among other ingredients. I’ve had a lot of luck with lilikoi curd and now a cheesecake bar. I love it in savory dishes, too, as a barbecue sauce for meats and as a flavor in salad dressing.

We’ve been experiencing a bumper crop. I can’t keep up with the production of lilikoi juice at my house; we’re freezing it for later. A dreamy, citrus perfume hangs all around our kitchen these days.

If you’re not lucky enough to have a trail for hunting or a vine in your backyard, I recommend Y. Hata for a tub of frozen passion fruit purée, or try a local farmer’s market for someone who has a few to spare.

To extract the juice, cut the lilikoi in two and scoop out its flesh into a blender. Whir it around in the blender to break up the flesh that surrounds each seed. The seeds will be broken into small pieces, but don’t blend them too long or the seeds will be hard to strain out. Strain the juice through a fine-meshed colander over a bowl and stir the seeds to release all the liquid. To be true to lilikoi’s strong flavor, I simmered a cup of the puréed juice until it was down to a mere quarter-cup and added that to the filling.

Lilikoi Cheesecake Bars

1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut, divided (optional)

12 Diamond Bakery Royal Creem Crackers

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1-1/4 cup lilikoi or passion fruit purée, divided

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup cream cheese, brought to room temperature

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 egg yolk

1/4 teaspoon salt

To make crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square pan. If using coconut, on baking sheet, sprinkle coconut in even layer and bake for 10 minutes, stirring twice during baking, until light brown, toasted and crisp.

In food processor fitted with metal blade, finely chop crackers and half of toasted coconut, if using, for about 1 minute. If you do not have a food processor, place crackers and coconut in resealable bag and pound with rolling pin. When mixture is fine crumbs, add brown sugar and butter and pulse again for 10 seconds.

Press crumb mixture into bottom of pan. Bake 18 minutes, then set on rack to cool.

For filling: Heat 1 cup lilikoi purée in heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk in white sugar and bring to simmer. Stir frequently with wooden spoon until liquid becomes syrup. (If you drag spoon across bottom of pan and can see the pan through the streak, it is ready.) Liquid should reduce to about 1/4 cup.

Whisk together cream cheese and condensed milk until creamy with no lumps. Add egg yolk and salt and stir again. Add remaining lilikoi juice and thickened lilikoi syrup.

Stir well. Once completely mixed, pour over crust and smooth out with spatula. Bake 21 to 23 minutes or until filling is just set. (Filling will still be creamy but edge will look slightly dry.)

Cool down and then refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Serve cold. Makes 16 bars.

Nutritional information unavailable.

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Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at www.thelittlefoodie.com.