Apple and Blackberry Crumble Bars
These apple and blackberry crumble bars are perfect for a sweet snack or breakfast on the go. You can even make the recipe ahead and freeze them for later.
Introduction
These are like the best-ever apple and blackberry crumble in a cuttable, transportable bar. What’s not to love? At their butteriest, crumbly best these can be a touch on the delicate side, so I tend to take the whole lot (already cut up) in the tin to protect them.
As well as being delicious, they freeze brilliantly when assembled but left uncooked. Simply freeze in the tin until solid, then remove from the tin using the baking paper to help lift the frozen block out. Wrap well and put back in to the freezer for up to 3 months. When you are ready to cook the crumble bars, slide the block back into the original tin and let it defrost, before baking as below.
Ingredients
| 2 | medium cooking apples (about 550-600g whole/unprepared weight), peeled, cored and diced |
| 150g | fresh or frozen blackberries |
| 2-3 tbsp | granulated sugar, or to taste |
| 100ml | cold water |
| 200g | butter, softened, plus extra for greasing |
| 200g | soft light brown sugar |
| 200g | self-raising flour |
| 1 tsp | bicarbonate of soda |
| 150g | porridge oats |
Essential kit
You will need: a 30 x 20 x 2cm baking tin and a food processor.
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Grease and line a 30 x 20 x 2cm baking tin with non-stick baking paper, leaving a couple of ‘tails’ to help lift it out.
Put the apples, blackberries, granulated sugar and water into a medium saucepan. Cover and simmer gently until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Whizz together the butter and brown sugar in a food processor until creamed. Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda and pulse until combined (the mixture will be quite crumbly). Add the oats and pulse again to mix.
Tip about two-thirds of the crumble mixture into the prepared tin and press down well using the back of a spoon, covering the base completely. Spread the fruit mixture evenly over the top, then sprinkle over the remaining crumble mixture to cover the fruit completely.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until the top is crisp and golden. Leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into bars.
Variations:
You can swap the blackberries for blackcurrants.
Or replace the apples and blackberries with about the same weight of rhubarb. Simmer the fruit with 3-4 finely chopped pieces of crystallized ginger.
Try substituting the cooked fruit with a jar (340g-ish) of your favourite jam.
Reviews
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