Jam crumble bars

I’m always on the lookout for things that are quick, cheap and keep and transport well for the friendly pony to take to work, and as soon as I saw these bars on 17 and Baking I knew they would be perfect.

The same mixture makes the base and the topping so they’re super quick to whip up, and all the ingredients are things I usually have on hand, plus the flavour can be adapted to whatever jam or fruit you need to use up.

I used a mix of blackcurrant and the last of my homemade raspberry rose jam, with a handful of frozen berries thrown on top which turned out great, and was a nice change from all the chocolate baking I’ve been doing lately!

Jam crumble bars (adapted from 17 and Baking)

Makes 8 large bars

• 150g plain flour
• 70g light brown sugar
• 140g butter
• 1 tbsp milk
• 150g oats
• 250g jam
• handful frozen berries (optional)

Mix the flour and sugar in a food processor, then add in the butter and mix until it forms bread crumbs. Transfer into a bowl and stir in the oats, then add the milk and bring together with your hands into a dough. Press about 3/4 of the mix into an 8×8 square tin, lined with foil.

Spread the jam on top of the base, heating a little in the microwave if it’s too thick to spread easily. Add the berries on top if using. Sprinkle the rest of the oat mixture on top, then bake at 190 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until golden. Leave to cool before slicing into bars.

Blackberry crumble cheesecake

This cheesecake was inspired by one of the same name by John Torrode, but I think it’s safe to say I made enough changes to call it my own.

I took the base of this cheesecake, as the comments on the original said it had a bit too much butter. I then decided to use this recipe for the filling, as I’d been wanting to try it for a while (to see if a low calorie cheesecake can really be as good as the full fat version).

I planned to use the topping of the original crumble cheesecake, but I didn’t like the fact that I’d have less control over how long to bake the cheesecake – if the crumble wasn’t browned I’d have to leave it in, even if the cheesecake was ready to come out.

For that reason, I followed the method of the Angela Nilsen recipe (ish) and made a separate crumble mixture and berry mixture to go on top once it was cooked.

I won’t lie, there’s quite a lot of faffing around with the way I made this, but it was well worth the effort. My only complaint is that the base went a bit soggy, and I’m not quite sure why – any suggestions?

I made this for my colleague Ryan’s last day at work before moving to Wales – he was very pleased!

Blackberry crumble cheesecake

For the base:

• 140g digestive biscuits
• 1tbsp sugar
• 85ml melted butter

Blitz the biscuits and sugar in a food processor until they’re in fine crumbs (or alternatively crush with a rolling pin). Gradually add in the melted butter, then press into a 9″ round springform tin. My top tip for cheesecakes is if your in has a lip around the edge of the base like mine, turn it upside down – it will make it a million times easier to get the cheesecake off later!

Bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees, then leave to cool while you make the filling.

For the filling:

• 300g light Philadelphia cream cheese
• 175g caster sugar
• 3tbsp cornflour
• zes and juice of 1 lemon
• 1tsp vanilla extrract
• 3 eggs
• 150g light fromage frais
• 100g fresh blackberries

Beat together the cream cheese, sugar and cornflour until well mixed and no lumps remain. Add in the lemon zest, juice and the vanilla extract, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the fromage frais, then the blackberries, then pour onto the base and bake for 10 minutes at 220 degrees.

After the 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 110 degrees and bake for a further 35 minutes. Leave in the oven overnight if possible, or at least 2 hours. This helps to stop it cracking, and I also bake my cheesecakes with a baking tray with 1cm hot water in it to create steam, for the same reason (look, it works!)

For the topping:

• 125g blackberries
• 25g caster sugar
• 100g flour
• 50g butter
• 50g demerara sugar

Heat the caster sugar with 3-4tbsp water in a saucepan. When it is boiling, add in the blackberries and cook until thick and syrupy, but with whole berries remaining.

Rub together the butter and flour to make coarse breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar. Spread the mixture onto a baking tray and cook for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees, taking out every five minutes to mix up with a fork.

Spread the berry mix over the cheesecake, then sprinkle the crumble mix on top. Chill in the fridge overnight, then serve.

Apple and raspberry crumble

Basically, this is exactly what it says, a delicious fruit crumble. No story behind it, just a crazing for hot fruitiness.

But simple is in no way a bad thing, and this crumble really did have super tastes.

I didn’t follow a recipe, so this is more of a rambling than a proper recipe post.

The fruit part is 3 medium sized cooking apples and half a pack of frozen raspberries, maybe 125g, in a medium sized baking dish.

Sprinkled on top of this is 50g caster sugar, and a bit of lemon juice to keep the apples from browning.

The topping is 50g butter, 100g plain flour, 50g demerara sugar and 50g porridge oats. Rub the butter and flour together until it turns into a breadcrumb consistency, then stir in the sugar and oats.

Scatter the topping all over the fruit, then bake at 200 degrees for about an hour (I covered it over with foil part way through to stop it getting too brown on top). You know it’s ready when the bright pink juices are bubbling out around the edges – and it smells amazing!

Serve with custard, cream or ice cream, any would go well!