Crumble is a real dessert staple in our house, but during the summer months it's not ideal to serve a steaming hot crumble after a salad or BBQ - in come these delicious not-quite crumble bars.
Prepare yourself for compliments on these - they're delicious!
Serves 16
Ingredients
4 cardamom pods, seeds crushed
1 tbsp lemon juice (save the rest of the lemon, see below)
250g low-sugar, high-fruit raspberry jam
10 slightly unripe plums, halved and stoned (you may need more or less, depending on size)
For the pastry
125g cold butter, cut into chunks, plus extra for the tin
150g ground almonds
150g plain flour
115g caster sugar
½ lemon, zested
½ tsp vanilla extract
(Or just use shop bought shortcrust!)
For the crumble
50g plain flour
35g ground almonds
45g cold butter, cut into small chunks
50g light brown soft sugar
½ lemon, zested
25g flaked almonds
icing sugar, for dusting (optional)
Method
- Preheat your oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C, then while it's warming butter and line a 30 x 20cm baking tin with baking parchment, leaving an overhang so you can lift out the traybake later.
- If you're using shop bought pastry then you can skip this step! To make the pastry yourself, put all the ingredients, except the vanilla, into a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the vanilla and a couple of teaspoons of very cold water and blitz again. The mixture should come together into a ball. If it doesn't, add a little more cold water and blitz again.
- Press your pastry into the tin with your fingers and the back of a large spoon, then bake in the oven for 15-18 mins until pale golden. Leave to cool for 15 mins.
- While your base cools, stir the cardamom seeds and the lemon juice into the jam until smooth. Spread the jam over the pastry base, leaving a 2cm border all the way round.
- Cut each of your plum halves into 1cm slices. Lay these into overlapping rows on top of the jam.
- Next you need to make your crumble; put the flour, ground almonds, butter, sugar and lemon zest into a food processor (you don’t need to wash it out first) and blitz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Tip this over the plums and scatter the flaked almonds on top.
- Pop it into the oven to bake for about 35-40 mins until the top is golden and the plums are tender. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
- Carefully lift the traybake out of the tin onto your work surface using the baking parchment and leave for a few hours so the fruit can settle (waiting to cut into it is the hardest part!).
- Cut into squares or rectangles, and if you'd like a little extra sweetness then sift some icing sugar over the top as desired.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!
