Blueberry Coconut Bars: soft and gooey, everyone will adore them

Succulent blueberries and coconut flakes meld together in these moist cake bars to make a healthy but indulgent snack.

These bars are soft and gooey, and topped with a coconut cream glaze for an added burst of sweetness. You won’t be able to stop at just one!

Instructions

Macerate the blueberries:

Rinse the blueberries and place them in a large bowl with the sugar. Mix up with a spatula, and set aside uncovered for about an hour.

To make the batter:

Preheat the oven to 350F/160C fan/gas mark 4. Lightly spray a 9×13 dish and line with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang of paper over the edge to make it easier to remove when cooked. Set aside.

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Step 1

Rinse the blueberries and place them in a large bowl with the sugar. Mix up with a spatula, and set aside uncovered for about an hour.

Cream the butter, sugar, and salt with a stand mixer until light and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes, but will take longer if you use a hand mixer.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stop and scrape the mixer bowl every so often to incorporate any stray batter. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the mixer bowl too. Reduce the speed to low, and add the vanilla bean paste and sweetened cream of coconut or coconut extract. Mix briefly until they are combined.

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Step 4

Preheat the oven to 350F/160C fan/gas mark 4. Lightly spray a 9x13 dish and line with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang of paper over the edge to make it easier to remove when cooked. Set aside.

Add the flour in two parts, mixing just enough to combine them. Stop and remove bowl from mixer, then fold in the coconut flakes. Fold the batter a couple more times, but don’t over mix or the cake will end up tough. The batter will be quite stiff instead of pourable, so you will need to spoon it into the pan.

Measure about 3 1/2 cups of batter and drop into prepared pan. Smooth and even out as best you can with a small spatula or spoon. It doesn’t have to be perfectly even, so don’t stress over it.

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Step 7

Cream the butter, sugar, and salt with a stand mixer until light and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes, but will take longer if you use a hand mixer.

Drop spoonfuls of the macerated blueberries onto the batter and spread them over the top as evenly as you can. Drizzle any blueberry syrup that has accumulated at the bottom of the bowl over the top.

With a cookie scoop or spoon, add the remaining batter over the macerated blueberries. No need to smooth it out perfectly, it will spread out as it cooks.

Place pan in the oven and bake for 34-45 minutes until the top is a golden brown and the blueberries are bubbling a bit. Insert a skewer into the center of the cake and see if it comes out clean. Sometimes the center is still uncooked, so give the cake another 5 or 10 minutes more if it needs it. Remove from the oven and allow cake to cool completely before removing from the dish and adding glaze.

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Step 10

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stop and scrape the mixer bowl every so often to incorporate any stray batter. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the mixer bowl too. Reduce the speed to low, and add the vanilla bean paste and sweetened cream of coconut or coconut extract. Mix briefly until they are combined.

To make the glaze:

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and cream of coconut, then add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix with either a small whisk or a fork until you get the desired consistency. If it seems too runny, add more confectioner’s sugar to stiffen the glaze up.

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Step 13

Add the flour in two parts, mixing just enough to combine them. Stop and remove bowl from mixer, then fold in the coconut flakes. Fold the batter a couple more times, but don’t over mix or the cake will end up tough. The batter will be quite stiff instead of pourable, so you will need to spoon it into the pan.

Using the parchment paper overhang, remove cake from the dish. Cut the bars into squares and drizzle glaze over the top.

Notes

*If you can’t find Coco Lopez cream of coconut, you can use coconut extract instead.