Blueberry Custard Bars

Blueberry Custard Bars are helping me get through a sweltering summer in London (between the usual rain days) and having recently finished reading ‘On the Road’ for the first time along with being addicted to Lana Del Rey’s song ‘Ride.’ I am craving getting into my own wheels and setting off for the beach.

After all, that is what summer is for, lazing and making memories with all the extra hours of light. Living in London makes this notion rather difficult, because firstly, I do not have a car and; secondly, I am terrified to get behind a wheel here. The drivers like to stalk crossing pedestrians and watching drivers battle over the tiny piece of asphalt between the white lines would put any lover of driving off the notion here.

Somehow because of this, summer doesn’t feel as fully lived as normally. London streets become cluttered with tourists (more than any other time of year) and all the amazing things to do have to be grabbed early otherwise you miss out. Here a summer vacation involves leaving the country when usually going away is good enough to pack the car and pitch a tent somewhere in little distant New Zealand.

The notion that people don’t think of that as normal to do here is also baffling. How different lives are lived on this globe and how different one person’s ‘normal’ is to another’s. It may seem like I’m complaining, but London comes truly alive in summer, everyone stays indoors in winter and generally it’s because it’s too cold to have outdoor cinemas and no one wants to hang out in the neighborhood locked parks because of the rain.

I just wish we were closer to the beach and summer lasted longer in these Isles.

How to prepare Blueberry Custard Bars

• Create the shortbread crust: Stir all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and add the butter, combining with a fork until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Press: Press evenly into the base of the bar tin and bake until golden.
• Heat the custard: Place the custard and cornstarch in a saucepan on medium heat until simmering and thickened. Set aside.
• Warm the caramel: Warm the caramel and set aside.
• Custard on top of shortbread: Spoon the custard onto the pistachio biscuit base, spreading out evenly.
• Add the caramel: Spoon the warm caramel  and marble with a toothpick.
• Bake: Bake until golden and only slightly jiggly.
• Cool: Allow the bars to cool to room temperature.
• Cook the blueberries: Place the blueberries and sugar into a saucepan on low heat and cooked, covered until soft.
• Cornstarch: Add the cornstarch and stir to thicken the blueberry sauce.
• Blueberries on top: Spoon the blueberries on top of the cooled caramel custard and smooth out.
• Refrigerate: Refrigerate the bars until set.
• Serve: Slice and serve. Enjoy!

Tips for the best Blueberry Custard Bars

Removing the pistachios: If you don’t like pistachios or cannot eat them, you can simply sub in a further 46 grams/1/3 cup flour for the shortbread base.

Type of custard: Store bought custard is easiest in this, however, you could most definitely use homemade custard.

Light caramel flavor in these bars: The caramel flavor is light in the custard so as to not overpower the blueberry topping or make this too sweet, however, if you love caramel you could most definitely add a further tablespoon, though I recommend trying the recipe as it is first and then amending as per this suggestion.

Other blueberry recipes you’ll enjoy

Blueberry Grunt

Coffee Blueberry Pie

Blueberry Custard Cake

Blueberry Custard Bars
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Makes 16 bars

Ingredients:
Base
1/3 cup pistachios, finely chopped
160 grams / 1 cup plain flour
25 grams / 1/4 cup confectioner’s/icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
90 grams / 3.1 ounces butter, chilled and cubed
Filling
500 grams / 17 ounces custard
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 heaped tablespoons caramel or dulce de leche
Topping
2 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons superfine/caster sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F and line a baking tin with greaseproof paper.

Place the pistachios, flour, confectioner’s sugar and salt into a bowl and stir to combine.

Add the butter and combine with a fork until the mixture resembles  breadcrumbs. Pour into the baking tin and press down to evenly flatten.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden on top. Remove and set aside.

Place the custard and cornstarch into a saucepan on medium high heat, whisking until smooth and thickened, approximately 4 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the caramel sauce in a small dish until warm.

Pour the custard mixture into the into the baking tray, carefully spoon over the caramel in heaped spoonfuls and marble with a skewer or toothpick over the entire surface of the custard.

Place into the oven bake for a further 20 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges and only jiggly in the center.

Remove and allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for a minimum 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the blueberries in a pot on the lowest heat and cover. Allow to cook, stirring until soft and juicy, add the cornstarch and whisk until smooth on medium heat.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes at room temperature. Spoon the berries over the caramel custard and refrigerate for minimum 30 minutes.

Remove and slice into bars.

Refrigerate until serving.

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