Pistachios are classy in the way they are unabashedly so bright and lend themselves perfectly to these Pistachio Custard Bars. Have you ever tried pistachio paste? If not and the idea of it sounds difficult, do not fret, it's actually incredibly easy and you don't need many pistachios to make enough paste for this recipe.
Why you'll love this
No bake
These are no bake making prep easy and meaning you can make ahead!
Crushed biscuit base
The crushed cocoa biscuit base is crunchy and not too sweet balancing the sweet filling
Pistachio paste
Okay, pistachio paste might seem super fancy if you can’t easily purchase this, but it’s actually easy to make at home and you don’t even need much for these bars
Chocolate topping
The layer of chocolate on top completes these bars and dark chocolate offsets the sweet filling!
Ingredients and substitutions for Pistachio Custard Bars
- Graham crackers: These the perfect base for these bars with their light and whole wheat flavor. If you are unable to obtain gramham crackers, a great substitute in equal measure would be digestive biscuits or even oreos!
- Cocoa powder: High quality unsweetened cocoa powder is used here and works perfectly to compliment the flavors in the graham crackers.
- Sugar: The best sugar in the base is superfine or caster which helps dissolve into the crushed biscuit base. You could half and half the sugar with light brown sugar and caster sugar. For the filling, light and airy confectioner's or icing sugar works best to give a nice firm texture to that no bake custard.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is used for every stage of these bars, but if all you have on hand is salted, that works as a fine substitute, just leave out any salt suggested in the recipe.
- Pistachios: The absolute star of this dish is the pistachio paste you can make (or buy). Their flavor is unparalled when compared to other nuts so don't completely recommend substituting, however, you could try hazelnuts in place, if you prefer.
- Custard powder: This gives our bars a depth of flavor and smooths out the intensity of the pistachios. You could opt to leave this out, if you prefer.
- Salt & Vanilla extract: The flavor powerhouses, just a little of both of these adds a depth to the bars that creates a well rounded flavor.
- Dark chocolate: High quality dark chocolate was used here, the type you would snack on instead of baking chocolate due to it having less additives and leaving a more complimentary flavor to the bars.
Equipment needed to make this
Saucepan: A small saucepan is all you need to boil that water and blanche your pistachios (if unable to obtain pistachio paste).
Food processor or Blender / immersion blender: To make the pistachio paste you need a blender or immersion blender and will need to pulse the pistachios frequently to get the paste going, but this is so worth it!
Mixing bowl: You’ll need a medium mixing bowl to mix the base, filling and melty chocolate topping with the butter.
Square tin: A 18×18 cm or 7×7 inch square baking tin works well here, though a rectangle tin would also work well.
Offset spatula: A small offset spatula will help you smooth out that filling nice and evenly.
FAQ's for the best Pistachio Custard Bars
How do you make pistachio paste?
You need raw pistachios to begin with and for this recipe 140 grams, approximately 1 cup and will need to blanche them to peel fully.
This is done by boiling water and placing your pistachios into a rolling boil for 1 minute. Drain and wrap your pistachios in a clean dry tea towel, rubbing to dry and peel most of the skins off. You might have to peel some portions by hand.
Place into a blender and pulse, scrapping down the sides until you have a paste and the oils from your pistachios are visible. The pistachios might look like a paste and fine at the stage before the oils become visible, so keep pulsing and scrapping until you see the oils forming on the edges of your blender or food processor.
Set your pistachio paste aside where it will keep in a covered and dark space for up to 2 weeks. If you are adding this paste to a dish that doesn’t specify sugar, you can sweeten before finishing up by adding 50 grams / ½ cup confectioner’s or icing sugar to your blender once the paste is formed.
For further reading re the blanching this information was very helpful and this link was helpful in making the paste.
Can I make pistachio paste ahead?
Yes!! This holds for 2 weeks covered and kept in a cool dark place!
Can I make Pistachio Custard Bars ahead?
Yes! These are kept in the fridge and can be made ahead up to 3 days ahead, though taste best within the first 2 days.
More no bake recipes you'll enjoy
How to make:
Line a baking tin with greaseproof paper, folding the edges down (or holding down with clips) and smoothly and set aside.
To make the base, place the cocoa powder, sugar and crushed graham crackers into the bowl and stir together to combine.
Make a well in the center and pour in the melted butter and combine until no dry patches remain in the edges of the bowl and the mixture holds together.
Spoon into the prepared tin and press down firmly into the tin nice and evenly. Set aside.
For the filling, place the butter and pistachio paste into a bowl and beat on low until smooth and combined.
Add in the custard powder, sugar, heavy cream, extract and salt and combine until smooth.
Spoon on top of the base and smooth out nice and evenly with an offset spatula. Set aside.
Meanwhile, stir the melted chocolate and butter together until smooth and pour over the custard filling and tap the base of the baking tin to spread out the melty chocolate nice and evenly.
Place in the refrigerator and allow to set for several hours or overnight.
Remove and slice into even slices with a hot knife.
Serve.
Pistachio Custard Bars
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 15 1x
- Category: Bars & Slices
Description
No bake pistachio custard bars with an easy crushed biscuit base and topped with a thin chocolate layer making pistachios the star feature of these bars.
Ingredients
Base
150 grams / 1/12 cups graham crackers, crushed
50 grams / ¼ cup superfine/caster sugar
37 grams / ⅓ cup cocoa powder
75 grams / 2.65 ounces butter, melted
Filling
135 grams pistachio paste
70 grams / 2.5 ounces butter, softened
170 grams / 1 ½ cups confectioner’s/icing sugar
25 grams / 3 tablespoons custard powder
72 grams / 5 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
Topping
150 grams / 5.3 ounces dark chocolate, melted
15 grams / 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Instructions
- Line a baking tin with greaseproof paper, folding the edges down (or holding down with clips) and smoothly and set aside.
- To make the base, place the cocoa powder, sugar and crushed graham crackers into the bowl and stir together to combine.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the melted butter and combine until no dry patches remain in the edges of the bowl and the mixture holds together.
- Spoon into the prepared tin and press down firmly into the tin nice and evenly. Set aside.
- For the filling, place the butter and pistachio paste into a bowl and beat on low until smooth and combined.
- Add in the custard powder, sugar, heavy cream, extract and salt and combine until smooth.
- Spoon on top of the base and smooth out nice and evenly with an offset spatula. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, stir the melted chocolate and butter together until smooth and pour over the custard filling and tap the base of the baking tin to spread out the melty chocolate nice and evenly.
- Place in the refrigerator and allow to set for several hours or overnight.
- Remove and slice into even slices with a hot knife.
- Serve.
Notes
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Calories: 246 calories per serve
Leave a Reply