Lemon and Raspberry Crumble Bars

Here’s a fabulous recipe for using up the end of the summer raspberries, or just finishing off the jam to make a new batch come the autumn. Boo hoo, is summer really starting to draw to a close? 🙁

These bars are a crisp lemon shortbread base, topped with jam and raspberries (slightly squishy is just fine) and topped with a lemon and cinnamon scented crumble. This gives a perfect three layer texture of crisp, sticky and crumbly.

These rather delicious raspberry and lemon crumble (or streusel if you like) bars are inspired by some fruity crumble bars my lovely grandmother used to buy. My grandparents used to live in a ‘granny annexe’, so just next door, and often when my mother was at work I’d spend the day with them. They were lovely, kind grandparents and we’d have fun, but they were also the older generation at a time when older people seemed to prefer a calm orderly lifestyle. So the days would have some predictability with a cooked lunch folllowed by some ‘quiet time’ while my grandmother read her book and my grandfather would sleep in front of the snooker on television (how come snooker was always on I have no idea!). Then we’d walk the dog and return home for tea and a cake or biscuit. She often had these fruity crumble bars in the cupboard and I particularly liked them. So here’s a recreation of that memory, made in honour of some easy, happy times – probably nothing like the original but rather tasty and tempting nonetheless!

Lemon and Raspberry Crumble Bars

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes 9

for the base:

100g margarine, melted

50g caster sugar

zest of 1 lemon

pinch of salt

125g plain flour

1. Stir all the ingredients together and then press into a lined, square baking tin
2. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 mins until golden
3. Leave to cool

for the filling:

1/2 cup raspberry jan

handful of raspberries

1. Spread over the cooked shortbread base and dot with halved raspberries

for the topping:

40g oats

60g soft brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

zest of 1/2 a lemon

40g flour

50g margarine

1. Rub the margarine into the ingredients together to make a rough crumble
2. Sprinkle over the jam covered base
3. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 degrees Centigrade until crisp and golden
4. Leave to cool and then drizzle with water icing (if desired) and cut into squares