Raspberry crumble bar is a type of dessert bar: a layered dessert which usually contains a biscuit or crumble base, topped with a tier – or tiers – of custard, jam, fruit, jelly, toffee, chocolate ganache, nuts, or more crumble.

The raspberry crumble bar is one of the less famous confectioneries among its peers. Unlike, say, the very quintessentially American lemon bars, a mix of lemon curd and biscuit base that was invented in the late 1960s. Or, one of Canada’s most famous exports, the iconic Nanaimo bar, an indulgent three-layered dessert of wafer-coconut-and-nut crumb base, custard and chocolate ganache.

Nevertheless, it packs a punch and is a great treat in a sweet-but-not-too-sugary kind of way. To boot, it’s made with a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread base.

These crumble bars are an odd mix of the old and the new: the traditional centuries-old shortbread incorporated into a 20th-century dessert invented for its convenience, and the wide availability of cheap sugar and quick mixes.

Shortbread (or shortie) is a traditional Scottish biscuit. Even though the biscuit was part of Scottish cuisine as far back as the 12th century, it exploded in popularity in the 16th century — which is attributed to the patronage of Mary, Queen of Scots. In particular, the triangular-wedge version of the biscuit, dubbed ‘petticoat tails,’ is associated with the infamous queen.

Raspberry crumble bars, with a shortbread base, are the perfect blend of crunchy and soft

Back then, shortbread was expensive and considered a luxury — reserved for holidays, such as Christmas and Hogmanay, the Scottish new year. While shortbread is more easily available now and cheaper to make, there is still something indulgent about these buttery biscuits.

With the raspberry crumble bars, you get the best of both worlds — a crunchy, buttery biscuit complemented with a soft layer of raspberry jam and fruit sandwiched in between.

Raspberry Crumble Bars

This dessert is quick and easy to make — one of the main reasons for its popularity. These store well in the fridge and can be eaten cold or warmed up. You can also freeze the baked bars in air-tight containers for up to six months.

Feel free to experiment with the jams and fruits used — while raspberry or any kind of berry is the more traditional choice, this will taste just as good with, say, guava or mango fruit and jam. If you choose to make your own jam, it’s a good idea to make it a day or two in advance of baking the bars.

Ingredients

For the jam

2 cups or 500g raspberry/fruit of your choice
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

For the crumble bars (Makes 24 bars)

225g unsalted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup raspberry jam/any fruit jam
1 cup raspberries/fresh fruit

Method

1. (If using store-bought jam, skip steps one and two.) Sterilise the jam glass jars.

2. Make the jam. Add the fruit, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. On a low heat, keep on stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar has melted, increase the heat and let the mixture boil. Mash the fruit and mix in well. Boil for five minutes, stirring constantly while doing so. Turn off the heat and let the jam set. Pour into sterilised glass jars and place in fridge.

3. Make the crumble bars. Preheat oven to 350°C. Grease a 9-by-12-inch baking tray with butter or oil and then dust with flour. In a bowl, add the butter and sugar, and mix well with a whisk or an electric beater. If mixing manually, soften the butter up first.

4. Sift and then add the flour to the sugar-butter mixture. Add the salt. Stir well until the dry ingredients are all folded in. Keep on mixing until a dough-like mixture forms.

5. Roll the dough together into a ball and knead it. Chill the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes or so. Then divide it into two. Take 2/3 of the dough and roll flat into a rectangular shape. Press the flattened dough on to the base of the tray. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let the biscuit cool down.

6. Take the remaining one-third of the dough and place in refrigerator — this is for the top layer of the crumble bar.

7. In a separate bowl, add the jam and fold in the fruit. Then spoon over the jam-fruit mixture and spread it over the baked biscuit. Take the remaining one-third of the chilled dough and tear in small streusel-shaped pieces and sprinkle all over the jam layer. Bake again at 350°C for 20 to 30 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown.

8. Cool the crumble bar in the fridge for half an hour. Then, cut into rectangular bars. Serve with chai.

Published in Dawn, EOS, July 7th, 2024