Apple & Raspberry Crumble Bars

*post updated july 2024.

With Father’s Day fast approaching (three days away, for the unorganized amongst you), I thought I’d share a recipe that dad loved. Last week, I made these Apple & Raspberry Crumble Bars – and my dad totally adored them! I’ll definitely be making them again for Father’s Day, and I highly recommend you do the same.

They came about for a few reasons. #1: I was living in The Boyf’s for the week & we had way too many apples that needed to be used up asap. #2: I felt I needed something to bring to my family so they’d welcome me home with open arms. I’d been gone for a whole week, and I was slightly less than good at communicating with them. Sigh. Also #3: I’m a big fan of crumbles. Rhubarb crumble, Strawberry & Apple Crumble, any crumble will do. It’s the big chunks of crumble on top that I love. You get a lovely big buttery piece of crumbly, buttery perfection in every mouthful – it’s so divine!

You know what’s even better than a topping with big chunks of crumble? A topping with big chunks of crumble and a perfect base. Really: it’s perfection. It has a high butter content, and when is that ever a bad thing? It’s similar to a shortbread, in a super buttery way, but better and thicker. To meet the high standards of both the base and the topping, I pumped a lot of apples into these Apple & Raspberry Crumble Bars – five big boys, to be exact. I chopped them up into bite-sized chunks, to make sure no bite goes without.

You can thank me on Sunday!

Apple & Raspberry Crumble Bars

Lightly spiced apple & raspberry filling, sandwiched between a buttery shortbread base and and crumbly topping.

Yield: 16 SQUARES

Author: Vicki

INGREDIENTS

for the filling

• 5 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks

• 4.5 tbsp caster sugar

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 2 tsp flour

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 1/4 cup raspberry jam

for the base

• 1 & 1/3 cup plain flour

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened

for the topping

• 1/2 cup plain flour

• 3 tbsp caster sugar

• 4 tbsp salted butter, softened

DIRECTIONS

• First, prepare the filling. In a large pan over a medium heat, cook the apples, sugar & cinnamon until the apples are soft, but still firm. In a cup, whisk together the flour & lemon juice. Once mixed, add the flour mix into the apples & stir constantly until thickened. Remove from heat & leave to the side.

• Preheat oven to 170°C & line an 8X8″ baking dish with baking parchment, leaving an overhang on both side for an easy removal. Grease the parchment & set aside.

• Next up, the base. In a medium bowl, combine the flour with the sugar & salt. Once mixed, add the butter into the bowl & combine, either with an electric whisk or your fingers, until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

• Press the base mixture into the prepared baking tin & bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.

• While the base is baking, make the crumble topping. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs, leaving some large chunks. Set aside.

• Remove the base from the oven & while it is still hot, spread the raspberry jam evenly over the base. Top the jam layer with the cinnamon apples, & finally top with the crumble layer. Return to the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

• Remove from the oven & allow to cool in the tray for 10 minutes. I then placed my tray into the fridge to speed up the cooling process. When completely cooled, use the overhanging parchment to remove from the tray & slice up into squares.