Update 07/09/2011
I m so flattered to know that one of my Twitter Follower Mike tried this recipe within 2 days of me posting it and was kind enough to send me all the step by step pictures.Thank you so much Mike.I really appreciate it.
All pictures in Collage are taken by Mike Hébert
When it comes to testing recipes, in complete contrast to the restless me, I seem to have all the patience in the world.What do you have to say about a recipe that I m trying to get right since May? I can already see those eyebrows rising up 
It took me 4 attempts to get this recipe right – I wont say its perfect but certainly one of the best fruit bars that I have made ever.P thinks that I have lost it since the time I have started food blogging – its futile to make him understand what measurements mean in baking & why I have been crazy for two months about this recipe.You know why? Because this is the most gorgeous color I have ever seen coming out of my oven.The only flaw I see in the recipe is that it is dependent on the color of plums..luckily 3 out of 4 times I tried them, the color of the plums & their skin was way too gorgeous.Yes, those were some good looking plums
My mind starts thinking of possibilities as soon as I see fruits in the grocery store.What do I bake with? Which ones do I add in the salad? Which ones I juice? Stone fruits are the bounty of summers.For a long time I thought that the best use of fresh plums was to bake a crumble with them. Till one day while trying to making a plum jam,when I saw how beautifully the skin softens to release the crimson colors – deep and gorgeous, I decided to attempt making bars with them – on the same lines as lemon bars but with plum sauce in the filling.I could not find a plum bars recipe in the numerous google searches I did.Or I should say not the kind I was looking for which showcases the gorgeous colors of the fruit. Given the fact that I cant bake from scratch,to start with I used this recipe as a base from one of my favorite blogger – Xialou of 6 bittersweets.Her recipe was perfect..I had to try a couple of combinations of quantities of plum sauce & flour to achieve the result I was looking for. I know I m lame when it comes to baking 
Look at the natural & pretty colors of plums after cooking
The first two attempts were okay..nothing great about them.The bars tasted good but were on the dry side-maybe I overbaked them.Third attempt was far better but I made the mistake of adding a layer of fresh plum slices on the top.The bars looked very pretty and shiny for a couple of hours but after that plums on top turned blackish brown and too horrible to take pictures.Finally, this Sunday I promised myself that I will attempt one last time before the next season.Mind you,I m buying fresh plums every week for the past 2 months and no matter how much I love them, right now we are sick of eating them.
Another thing I noticed during multiple attempts was that the color of the bars totally depends on how fresh & deep colored your plums are.You can see how gorgeous my lot of plums were both inside & outside.I m crazy about the classic combo of ginger & plums like many of you- in the recipe ginger gorgeously adds hint of warmth in the crust as well as the filling.Not only these bars tasted gooey & tart & gingery with hints of warm spices I added, but they have become quite a hit with my neighbours & co workers – no wonder they have got a constant supply of these for past few weeks
Below goes the recipe.See notes at the end:-
I used the recipe here as a base to start with.
Ingredients:-
For the crust:-
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp grated ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 stick [ 8 tbsp] cold butter, cut into pieces
- 2 whole eggs [ medium size at room temperature]
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 cup +2 tbsp white granulated sugar [can be reduced to 1 cup]
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups plum puree [ recipe below]
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp of powdered sugar [ for sprinkling on top]
I was clicking the plums for a long time- the color was so so pretty
- 6-8 medium-sized fresh plums
- 2 ” fresh ginger shoot, grated [ about 2 tbsp]
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- Less than 1/8 tsp each of ground cinnamon & clove powder [optional]
- Line a 7 X 11 inch brownie pan/baking dish with a parchment paper.Line the paper such that it covers all the sides & bottom and is little extra on all sides so that once baked, you can lift the entire bar using the sides to cut later.
- In a food processor, tip in the flour, brown sugar, salt & ginger.Pulse 3-4 times to mix.Next, add the cold butter and pulse till the flour mix comes together & resembles loose crumbs.
- Press the mix using your fingers on the baking dish to cover all sides and form as smooth/even layer as possible.Refrigerate again for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is refrigerating,preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the refrigerated crust for 20-25 minutes until the crust barely starts to brown on sides.Remove the baked crust from oven & let cool.
- Let the oven on.
Make the filling :-
Notes:- - The consistency of plum puree is of real importance.Make a thick puree in your processor/blender.If it feels runny or watery, cook the puree a little more.
- The flaw of the recipe is that the color of bars depends on color of your plums.I got a different shade each time I tried. Also if you have a big lot, half them and use the ones which are pretty in color inside.
- Since every oven is different, the time of baking may vary from appliance to appliance.Adjust as per your oven.
ahhh beautiful fruit bars!! and i love the combo of flavors of plum and ginger together.
Your photos Tanvi .. My oh My !!! I don’t know what to say .. gorgeous light, styling. Picture perfect
As for trying recipes .. i get mad when it doesn’t work out and loose hope. Then after few hours I am charged up again to try that. There is one such recipe that I have been trying. Hope someday it will become blog worthy to share with you!
This bar is pretty pretty and made to perfection.
Gorgeous colour indeed… and I bet the flavours and texture are amazing too…
Can’t wait to enjoy stone fruits again *sigh*…
Tanvi hon, these look perfectly perfect to me, beautiful colours and I can taste the great flavours you’ve used, delish!
I get completly frustrated if a recipe doesnt work, sometimes I will try it again, espeically if it is mine to begin with, however my patience for a recipe that does not work the first time usually means Ill scrap it and try somebody else’s. I admire your persistance lovely one. 
real pretty bars…lovely colour and photographs.
Super!
Whoa………….so beautiful. The bars themselves, photography, food styling… It’s like A+ for EACH category… And you made this 4 times?! That’s a real hard work and I know all of your recipes are trustworthy because you aim for perfection! I have to scroll up one more time to take a look at your creation.
These look really tasty! They’re such pretty photos and bars!
These have to be the prettiest bars I have ever seen!
Your patience certainly paid off because the bars look gorgeous and I bet they taste amazing! I love the colours of the cut plums too, so beautiful.
the colour is indeed very pretty
I love how much time, energy, and patience you put into making your food and recipes so perfect. It really shows how much of a foodie you are!
Gorgeous bars Tanvi!!! Those look perfect! I really haven’t seen anything like this before
I want to have them right now!!! such a pretty pink! great photos too…
I completely understand about trying a recipe several times to get it right! I have also been experimenting so much with baking. As I am new to baking I usually need to try something more than once to get it right. My husband also thinks I have lost it!
Absolutely beautiful photographs just like your other posts. Would love to try this tempting bar.
This looks incredible! I love it–the combination is so unique!
wow, they look so pretty
Oh my. Another masterpeice. This looks instanly great and I can’t wait to taste them. Beautiful pictures and the result is wonderful.
Hope you have a great weekend Tanvi.
What lovely creation, Tanvi! Those plums are looking gorgeous. Like the perfect pieces you cut out.
Very pretty indeed! I can relate to that. I’m quiet an impatient person and my patience with cooking surprises me too. But buying plums every week lol ur amazing! The picture with that little bitten bar – I fill like grabbing it right now! Come live near me
Oh my gosh, these bars are so pretty. I am so mesmerized by the plum color. I can keep admiring those plums all day long.
These look and sound divine. What a fantastic combination of flavors!
Oh, my! I’m late for the party and I’ve been waiting what the parchment paper is for
. Did you save a piece for me? Let’s share these babies to the world!
These are beautiful and unique. And I have plums. I love my lemon bars but now I’m thinking a combination of the two would be fun!
Glad my recipe was a useful starting point for developing this unique and gorgeously colored and flavored bar! I hope it wasn’t something unclear in my recipe that led you to have to remake these so many times, but it looks like the result is definitely worth it either way. Great job, dear!
Absolutely not Xialou..Your recipe was perfect.I had to try a number of combinations of flour & plum sauce to achieve the right color..and I did overbake them twice as I already mentioned in my post.
Very gorgeous color indeed both the bars and the plums…plums are a favorite! And your photos are just beautiful…really brings the colors to life
Wishing you a lovely weekend Tanvi
Yum! I love bars like this but made with plums sounds so great! I’ve got to try these
OO, those look very, very good. You’re right, the plums and the bars are both very pretty, and such a gorgeous color. I can why your coworkers and neighbors loved these.
Thanks so much everyone for stopping by.It is overwhelming! You guys are the best
I love it when recipe development turns out right…and here you’ve got it WAY WAY right. That plum ginger filling for these bars sounds beyond amazing!
Tanvi, one reason I love your blog is your honesty. It took 4 times to get these right — I value that transparency in a writer + foodie! After all that effort I can’t imagine they taste any less beautiful than they look! Love the flavors.
You are certainly not lame at baking! You produce the most beautiful end results and my testing out the recipe so many times takes the hard work out for the lazy lame bakers like myself
These look so perfect and fresh, brilliant summer recipe! Not enough plum recipes out there and the flavour combo sounds utterly addictive. Lovely post 
Yum! I can’t resist plums when they’re in season and these bars sound totally addictive!
Your photos are so gorgeous. Not to mention the plum & ginger combo is so unique. Great great great stuff!
Absolutely stunning, Tanvi!
I would have no idea how to make something like this without this detailed and interesting tutorial. Your photos are incredible! I have been very neglectful. Still not caught up with everyone. Not even close. My daughter just got married last Saturday, and I have not kept up with my readings or comments – just stared blogging again in June – hadn’t written for about 3 months, either. I can see what I have missed! You are truly an inspiration!
Valerie
woah nelly – that looks like an amazing combo of flavors. i bet the taste is just explosive! i bookmarked it with my cookmarked.com account ( http://cookmarked.com ).
Thank you so much everyone!
Oh my… love these! Plum and ginger = divine. Have to give them a try!
wow these look lovely
Wow, these look so cute and tempting!! Your pics are so perfect, yet not overly styled, hence thy bring warmth & comfort!
Wow- what an unsual combo of flavors! I love the colors here. And those plums look sooo sooo juicy! I’m like you and forever thinking in the supermarket what to buy and wat I’ll make with it. Thanks for entering Monthly Mingle!
These are gorgeous… hopefully I shall find a few plums soon & try making these!
I love your Blog Tanvi really…. I was just enjoying myself here and i found this recipe. I have lots of plums lying screaming to be consumed, I’m gonna make this ….
Thanks dear.
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