Strawberry Peach Basil Bars

Some ingredient combinations make people a bit skeptical when you mention them. But then, they bite into whatever it is you made and they completely forget about their doubts.

These bars definitelay have that reaction. I love basil in desserts (and cocktails), and I’ve had this combination before in these Strawberry Peach Basil Cupcakes. So, clearly, I had no doubt these bars would be amazing.

I actually started with this Blueberry Crumb Bar recipe, but I was multi-tasking while the ingredients were in the mixer, so the crumb mixture turned into a dough. No worries though, the bars still came out amazing. My favorite bites were the ones with a lot of basil and I decided the next time I make these, I’ll bump up the amount of basil in them.

One Year Ago: Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
Four Years Ago: Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

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Strawberry Peach Basil Bars

Yield: 24 bars

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, cold
1 egg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

For the Filling:
3 cups peeled, diced peaches
2 cups diced strawberries
1/4 cup basil, chiffonaded
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

For the Dough: In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and cinnamon, if desired. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the shortening and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

For the Filling: In medium bowl, gently toss diced peaches and lemon juice together; set aside.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently.

Spread the filling evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the filling layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Dough recipe from AllRecipes.com, filling adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen and The First Kitchen

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16 Responses to “Coconut Layer Cake Filled with Lemon Curd”

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    1
    Erica @ Inandaroundtown — April 6, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    WOW – I would like to have a piece of that cake as soon as possible! looks beautiful and delicious!

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    2
    FunandFearlessinBeantown — April 6, 2011 at 4:26 pm

    This cake looks beautiful and I love the addition of toasted coconut!

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    3
    Christina — April 6, 2011 at 4:32 pm

    I love love cakes with coconut. So delicious.

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    4
    Maria — April 6, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    Beautiful cake!

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    5
    DeliciousDish — April 6, 2011 at 4:48 pm

    Totally agree – the more layers the better! The cake looks stunning!

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    Paula Kelly-Bourque — April 6, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    Had I been at your dinner party you wouldn’t have had to cook anything. I would have just completely indulged in this gorgeous cake!

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    7
    Evan — April 6, 2011 at 5:29 pm

    This cake looks incredible! coconut and lemon are two of my favorite flavors; I’m glad you don’t have to choose one or the other with this recipe.

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    8
    Bianca Garcia — April 6, 2011 at 5:34 pm

    This sounds wonderful. Coconut with lemon curd, yummmm!

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    9
    Taryn — April 6, 2011 at 5:49 pm

    This looks fantastic – so springy and beautiful, and absolutely delish 🙂

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    10
    ammy 92 — April 6, 2011 at 6:28 pm

    what a wonderful cake!

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    11
    ErinsFoodFiles — April 6, 2011 at 6:30 pm

    Beautiful cake! I’ve been craving a coconut cake, but I know too many people who don’t like coconut cake that if I made it I wouldn’t have anyone to share. Boo.

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    12
    Shannon — April 6, 2011 at 8:01 pm

    ooh, fabulous. love the lemon curd-coconut combo, and in a layer cake, fun!!

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    13
    A Boston Food Diary — April 6, 2011 at 8:30 pm

    OF COURSE 4 is better than 2!!! This looks amazing….I love the idea of lemon and coconut together-and it’s gorgeous!

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    14
    Aimee — April 6, 2011 at 8:47 pm

    Love lemon curd, love coconut, especially love a cake that lets me “frost” the sides with ease. This looks so yummy!!

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    15
    Nutmeg Nanny — April 6, 2011 at 9:31 pm

    Such a delicious cake! I honestly didn’t know a 6 inch was half of a 9 inch….thank you 🙂

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    Kelly Jaremco — April 29, 2015 at 8:39 pm

    I told my girlfriend I would bake her a cake for her birthday this Sunday !!! I got lemon curd and coconut stuck in my brain, so I started googling… which led me to your page !!! This recipie looks almost perfect !!

    Couple questions…

    Do you think the coconut extract was too strong for the cake, because you also have the browned coconut pcs too? I was considering vanilla bean cake, lemon curd and toasted coconut on the outside… but perhaps that wouldn’t be enough coconut flavour…. your thoughts?

    Lastly… what did you use as the frosting to keep the toasted coconut on? It looks like whipping cream…. ?!?!?

    Thanks !!!
    Kelly

    P.S
    This is the first cake I’ve ever baked !!! lol

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