Blackberry and Apple Crumble Bars

A sweet, fruity, crisp and chewy recipe for blackberry and apple crumble bars. An autumnal delight made with wholemeal flour and oats for a slightly healthier take on the classic crumble bar. They're super delicious and ever so easy to make.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Set the oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4).

Step 2

In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together, except for the egg.

Step 3

Remove about a third of the mixture and set aside.

Step 4

Add the egg to the remaining two thirds and stir until it’s well combined.

Step 5

Press the mixture into a 20 cm square silicone mould or lined cake pan. Use the back of a spoon to make it as firm as possible.

Step 6

Tip the filling onto the base and spread out as evenly as you can.

Step 7

Scatter the crumble mixture you set aside earlier over the top.

Step 8

Bake for 35 minutes, by which time the fruit should be cooked and the topping crisp and golden. If it doesn't look quite ready, give it another five minutes in the oven.

Step 9

Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool completely, before cutting into twelve bars.

Step 10

Chop the apples into roughly 1 cm chunks (slightly less than ½ an inch).

Step 11

Place them in a medium sized bowl and add the apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Give a good stir, so the apples are coated. This will prevent browning.

Step 12

Tip in the blackberries, followed by the sugar.

Step 13

Add the arrowroot and ground cloves and stir carefully so as not to break up the blackberries until everything is just about mixed.

Step 14

Use frozen blackberries if you can’t get hold of fresh ones.

Step 15

Add a few chopped hazelnuts to the topping for additional autumnal deliciousness.

Step 16

Will keep well for five days in the fridge if kept in a sealed container.

Step 17

The cinnamon and clove spices are quite subtle in these blackberry and apple crumble bars. I wanted the fruit to shine and the spices to enhance rather than dominate. But if you really like cinnamon, by all means add an extra quarter or even a half teaspoon to the mix.

Step 18

By way of a change, you could swap the cinnamon for British mixed spice or American pumpkin pie spice. And nutmeg works well in the fruit mix, so you could use that instead of cloves.

Step 19

For apple crumble bars, use 350g of chopped apples and no blackberries.

Step 20

For blackberry crumble bars, use an additional 150g of blackberries and omit the apples. Swap the cinnamon for the grated zest of a lemon.

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