Cherry Crumble Tray Bake

 

I adore cherries. When we lived down South in the late Spring, early summer, you would often see cherry sellers at the side of the road plying their wares.  

They would come over from France and set up shop on large trestle tables, selling them in 1 kilo  brown paper bags.  If you have ever eaten a cherry from a brown paper bag on a warm spring/summer day you have tasted a little bit of heaven.

 

I would always buy two bags. One to eat in the car on the way home and one for later on. 

They were soooooo good!  None ever got made into pies. We were too busy eating them out of hand!

 

This recipe I am sharing today makes use of the frozen cherries you can buy in the freezer section of the shops.  I usually have a container or two in the freezer. 

They come in very handy for things like this fabulous tray bake.

 

It is actually a different version of my Apple Crumble Tray Bake.  (Oh so good also.) I decided to try the same recipe using cherries instead of apples, with brilliant results! 

 

If you like apples more than cherries, by all means make the apple version, but if you are as fond of cherries as I am, you are going to fall in love with the cherry version!

 

You have a buttery, crumbly shortbread type of cake base  . . .

 

Topped with a layer of raspberry jam and a sweet cherry filling  . . .

 

With a buttery crumble topping  . . .  what's not to love about this!

  

These are fabulous.  You can either drizzle with a lemon drizzle icing, or opt to dust lightly with icing sugar as I have done. Either way you are sure to enjoy! 

Yield: Makes one 8-inch square panAuthor: Marie Rayner

Cherry Crumble Tray Bake

prep time: 10 minscook time: 40 minstotal time: 50 mins

Delicious cherry bars with a shortbread type base, a layer of raspberry jam, a sweet cherry filling and a moreishly butter topping. Glaze or not as desired.

ingredients:

For the base:

187g of plain flour (1 1/3 cups)

2 TBS granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature (1/2 cup)

For the filling:

225g frozen cherries (1 cup)

5 TBS granulated sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

dash  each of ground cardamom and freshly grated nutmeg

2 tsp corn flour (corn starch)

2 TBS lemon juice

2 heaped dessertspoons of raspberry jam (about 1/4 cup)

For the topping:

70g plain flour

3 TBS granulated sugar

4 TBS unsalted butter, softened

pinch each salt, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg

instructions:

Preheat
 the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter an 8 inch square baking
pan.  Line with baking paper, leaving an overhang.  Butter the paper.
 Set aside.

Sift the flour for the base into a
bowl.  Whisk in the sugar and salt.  Drop in the butter and rub it in
with your finger tips until you have a mixture resembling bread crumbs.

Press this evenly into the prepared pan, pressing down firmly.  Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until lightly brown around the edges.

To
 make the filling, put the cherries into a skillet along with the sugar
and spices.  Cover over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the
cherries are tender, but still holding their shape.  Whisk together the
corn flour and lemon juice.  Stir this into the cherry mixture.   Cook
and stir until the mixture thickens.  Remove from the heat and set aside
 to cool.

Make the crumble topping by whisking
the flour, sugar and spices together in a small bowl.  Rub the butter in
 with your fingers until you get a clumpy mixture.  

After
 the initial baking of the crust, remove it from the oven.   Loosen the
jam with a fork and then spread it evenly over the hot base.  Top with
the cherry filling.  (I use my hands to spread it out evenly)  Top with
the crumble topping, scattering it evenly over top.  Bake for 25 to 30
minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool completely in the pan before
lifting out and cutting into squares to serve.

An
 optional glaze can be made by whisking together 65g (1/2 cup) of icing
sugar and enough lemon juice to give you a smooth and drizzable mixture.
  Drizzle this decoratively over top of the cherry  bake and allow to set
prior to cutting.

Note - Alternately you can just give them a light dusting of icing sugar.

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

Did you tune into the latest Royal Wedding yesterday?    I did and thought Eugenie was a beautiful bride.  She and her husband make a lovely couple and are very clearly in love with each other.  I love it when that happens.  I wish them many, many years of happiness together!  Bon Appetit and Bon Weekend!