Last month I made the chocolate caramel slice bars from donna hay magazine. What a disaster. I did everything that was asked of me, hence it wasn’t enough. The caramel filling didn’t set and the parchment paper that lined the baking dish was one big sloppy mess ( didn’t stop my friend Kate from eating around the edges, licking her fingers – oohing and awwing the whole time ).
I have decided to give her bars another go around. I opted to go with something somewhat safe. She has a recipe for rhubarb crumble slice. I didn’t have any rhubarb on hand, but I did have strawberries. So instead, I made strawberry crumble bars.
They were well received. Thank goodness! I do not do well with kitchen disasters. I take it all very, very personal. I needed these to be a winner! And they were.
Strawberry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
shortbread crust
1/3 (75g) caster sugar
1 1/2 (225g) cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 tsp. baking powder, sifted
1 egg, lightly beaten
100g unsalted butter, melted
strawberry filling
450g strawberries, hulled + chopped
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
crumble topping
1 1/2 cups (225g) all-purpose flour, sifted
1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
150g cold butter, chopped
Instructions
• preheat oven to 350*. lightly grease an 9 x 12″ baking dish. line with parchment paper and butter the paper.
for the shortbread crust:
• place the sugar, flour, baking powder, egg and butter in a bowl and mix to combine.
• press into your prepared pan. bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and firm.
strawberry filling:
• toss the strawberries, sugar, and vanilla. set aside
for the topping:
• place the flour, sugar and butter in a large bowl and mix to combine. the mixture should resemble coarse bread crumbs.
• spoon the strawberries over the cooked base and top with the crumble topping.
• bake 35-40 minutes or until golden. cut into 2″ squares! dust with a little confectioner’s sugar!
The Urban Baker / SusanSalzman.com
I need a little dessert to take to a friend’s this weekend. I am going to give these a whirl. I like your use of strawberries: the caramel sounds uber-sweet, so maybe it was a good thing the recipe didn’t work out cuz it brought you to this version. Living dangerously as I do (with cooking, at least) I will try these with raspberries left from my picking excursion, maybe thickened with a little cornstarch since they are very runny and you had the problem with the caramel? Worth a try. Thanks so much.
These look yummy! For those of us who are very “novice” bakers and follow your blog because everything looks so good and you make it so easy – what the heck is caster sugar and where can I buy it? Thanks!
Jackie – caster sugar is super fine sugar. They sell super fine sugar in the stores, but you don’t need another box on your shelf! Just throw a few cups in your food processor and process the heck out of it. I store it in a jar and use it when needed!
Sally, raspberries sound wonderful! I am so anxious to hear how they turn out! I am sure it will be yummy!
These look and sound great, I do love fruit fillings in a crumble bar. Sorry the caramel bars were a mess (although I probably would have been like your friend, nibbling and licking bits of it anyway!).
can’t wait to try these. it is good to know that you are human and that you can have a kitchen “disaster” as well. so sorry. i know how those feel. as usual you have redeemed yourself.
I have some blue berries in the freezer and this would be a perfect recipe to try.
I love crumby bars. Love to try this recipe soon. Thanks for sharing.
These sound and look awesome! Thanks for sharing.