Raspberry Almond Crumb bars with Toasted Coconut

The arrival of Spring always makes me crave fruit. The trouble is that it's still a bit too early to get much fresh fruit - or at least fresh fruit that hasn't travelled across the country to get to my plate. Another thing I like about Spring is that it's still cool enough to turn on the oven and not so hot that room temperature butter is soup. Take the two together and baking fruity treats is just the ticket.

I've been on a raspberry kick of late. I bought some raspberry sorbet and a big jar of raspberry jam. I got the jam home, went to put it in the cupboard and found... another big jar of raspberry jam! Ooops. Jar number one must find a suitable use. I flipped through a couple baking books and found a recipe I liked in the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. Her Jam Crumb Bars had only a few ingredients and would be the perfect use for my jam. They needed a little something extra though so I added some almond extract and toasted coconut.



These buttery, rich bars are easy to make. They require cooling time in between baking so throw something else in the oven to make good use of the heat while the crust cools. The limited number of ingredients is a welcome change to many of the dishes I attempt and believe me, these have all the flavor in the world: butter, raspberry and almond with a hint of toasted coconut. Yum!

Feel free to substitute your favorite jam (or whichever flavor you accidentally bought 2 jars of). Strawberry, apricot, blackberry - anything would pair nicely with the flavors. And until more fresh fruit arrives, these are full of fruit flavor (which makes them healthy, right??).

I'll be craving another fruit dessert soon, so leave a comment with your favorite or a link to something you've made...



Raspberry Almond Crumb Bars with Toasted Coconut
adapted from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook

1/2 cup coconut
2 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces, plus extra for pan
1 3/4 cup blanched almonds, finely ground in a food processor
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond extract (optional)
1 3/4 cups raspberry jam (or use your favorite fruit jam)



Preheat oven to 350F. Sprinkle the coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, stirring occasionally.

Butter a 13x9-inch cookie sheet (1/4 sheet pan), then line the bottom with parchment allowing about an inch to hang over on each of the long sides. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almonds, sugar, and salt. Sprinkly the almond extract over the mixture and the cut in the butter using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Using your fingers, squeeze the mixture together to create pea-sized crumbs with a few larger clumps.



Transfer 2/3 of the mixture to the prepared baking dish and press it firmly and evenly in the bottom of the pan. Use a rolling pin to flatten the crust. Be sure there are no holes or cracks. Bake until light golden all over, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely.



Combine the cooled toasted coconut with the remaining crumb mixture.

Spread the jam over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the ramining crumb mixture over the jam, squeezing some into clumps. Bake about 20-22 minutes until the topping is light golden and the jam is bubbling around the edges but not too dark. Remove pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Run a kinfe around the edges and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into individual bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

June Daring Bakers: Raspberry Bakewell Tart

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

This month's challenge was a fun one - I brought it to a father's day celebration at my sister's house and everyone loved it. It even put up a good showing against mom's homemade blueberry pie and my brother-in-law's homemade ice cream!

I decided on raspberry for my filling since the market had big red juicy raspberries that were irresistible. I also love raspberry and almond together. To make the jam I simply combined three pints of the berries in a saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar and let it cook until it was thickened. It was a bit tart but combined perfectly with the frangipane.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)

Bench flour

250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability

One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)

One handful blanched, flaked almonds (optional)

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.
The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Sweet shortcrust pastry
Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)

Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour

30g (1oz) sugar

2.5ml (½ tsp) salt

110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)

2 egg yolks

2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)

15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane
Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened

125g (4.5oz) icing sugar3 (3) eggs

2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract

125g (4.5oz) ground almonds

30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.