If you love mango, you’ll want to make Mango Bars part of your dessert-life. The intensely delicious natural flavor of mango curd, looks and tastes beautiful on top of shortbread. While making lemon bars for work, and thinking about a dear friend who loves mango, the idea of creating mango bars came to me. I’m so happy this worked out, and I’m excited to share this recipe with you.

First-thing-first. If you are planning on making mango bars with me, you’ll need to bake a layer of shortbread crust and allow it to cool before pouring fresh-made mango curd on top. Click here to link to my shortbread crust recipe.

Ok. Mango curd time. We’re taking fresh or frozen mangos, creating a puree, whisking it into butter, (vegan or classic) sugar, a little salt and corn starch, plus eggs, and cooking it to the just-right temperature. To take it over the top, we swirling in an optional mango reduction or pre-made mango jam.

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My dear friend was the inspiration for this dessert. I had not seen her in several months – because of the pandemic and life in general – and wanted to make her something thoughtful, I knew she would love. So I first tested and perfected these mango bars, and then I went to the my floral supplier and found mango-colored Ranunculus and indigo-violet colored Scilla to create a bouquet. More up close photos of the florals are at the end this post.

mango curd

Mili Takashima

Mango Curd is a delicious alternative to Lemon Curd, and can be used as a spread or filling, or in my favorite way as Mango Bars.

This recipe is gluten free, and can be made dairy free by switching out the dairy butter for vegan butter. It is naturally flavored and colored.

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Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened for dairy-free, use 1:1 ratio of vegan butter. one cup = 2 sticks
1 cup granulated sugar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons corn starch up to 1/3 cup, depending on desired firmness (optional)
1/3 cup fresh mango juice or puree

Instructions

Prepare mangos by blending fresh or frozen mango pieces, to make 1/3 cup for a single batch. You may need to add just a few tablespoons of filtered water for this to blend properly.
Soften butter and smooth to the bottom of a mixing bowl.
Add sugar and salt, and corn starch if using.
Mix in two whole eggs, plus two egg yolks, one at a time until totally combined.
Add mango puree.
Pour mixture into a pan for cooking at medium-high heat.
Whisk until temperature of curd becomes 180 degrees Fahrenheit or 82 degrees Celsius.
The mango curd is complete. Allow to cool before serving.
If using for Mango Curd for Mango Bars, you'll have your shortbread layer baked and cooled.
Pour the hot mango curd onto the top of the shortbread. Smooth to even out.
If you'd like the option to add a ribbon of mango reduction or jam to the top, you would allow the curd to cool and set close to room-temperature before pouring on top.
Swirl in the reduction or jam. Allow to set by refrigerating for about 8 hours.
Cut with a sharp knife and serve.

Video

If you want to make the reduction, to swirl into the mango curd, use my recipe for fruit-based reductions and syrups. For the very best mango reduction/syrup result, for the most intense flavor, I recommend using a mango juice concentrate.

fruit-based reductions and syrups

Mili Takashima

Reductions and syrups are made by taking real fruit and fruit-based products, and cooking them down to intensity their flavor. We use them for adding flavor into a recipe, or for drizzling right on top of the finished food. This is a process of simply cooking-down the juices and nectars of fresh fruit or berries, or pre-made fruit-based products like champagne, wine, and even balsamic vinegar.

Fruit-based liquid + sugar + heat = reduction or syrup.

Most of the time, flavors from fruit or fruit-based products get cooked-out or baked-out of recipes, or are literally too thin to pour or drizzle onto the finished product. This process and the sugar preserves the flavoring, so that you can refrigerate longer without spoil. You can also freeze your reductions for up to six months.

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Ingredients

using prepared items (like fresh fruit juice, puree, wine/champagne, balsamic vinegar) to create a reduction or syrup

1 cup fruit-based products
1/2 cup granulated sugar

starting with fresh fruit or berries to create a reduction or syrup

4 cups fresh fruit or berries- cleaned and cut
1/2 cup filtered water
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

using prepared items (like fresh fruit juice, puree, wine/champagne, balsamic vinegar) to create a reduction or syrup

At medium heat, in a pan, pour in the fruit-based product and sugar. For every one cup of liquid, add in 1/2 cup of sugar. As per the instructions above for making the liquid from fresh fruit, you'll heat at medium until bubbles. Once there are all-over bubbles, you can lower heat to low and simmer and stir.
Remove from heat and pour into your food or onto your food for real, intense flavor.

starting with fresh fruit or berries to create a reduction or syrup

In a pot or pan set to medium heat, place water, and pour in sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar.
Place fruit. Here we are using peaches. Start your timer for 5-8 minutes, once there are simmering-bubbles on the side of the pan. You will cook the fruit depending on the fruit firmness you want. I tend to use this cooked fruit for cobbler, cakes, and fruit-fillings.
Once you are done cooking the fruit, strain it so that the fruit and nectar/juice is separated.
Stir the nectar. In a pan, at medium heat, pour the amount of nectar you'd like to make into a reduction/syrup. Allow the bubbles to start
Once it is reaching the correct heat, there will be bubbles all over. At this point, lower the heat to low, simmer and stir.
This process takes about five minutes. The nectar will be thicker and darker in color. It has reduced down. You have a reduction. Use a spoon to see the thickness. If you want it a little thicker, you can cook it a little longer.
Your reduction / syrup will thicken more once it cools to room temperature. Keep it in glass containers in your refrigerator for two to three weeks, or freeze for up to six months. You can re-heat the stored syrup to get it back to drizzle or pouring texture.

If you love fruit curds, try my other recipes: Citrus Curd, Lemon Bars, Lemon Meringue Pie, Raspberry-Lime Tart

To wrap up this post, I’m sharing a little bit of my floral-side. I absolutely loved the simplicity of this bouquet to go with the mango bars! Here are a couple more photos of these natural beauties.

I have made Mango Bars over and over again because they have become a favorite! Here they are with a passion fruit curd and mango reduction swirl, plus a touch of toasted coconut.