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Blackberry, lemon and almond bars

Name: Blackberry, lemon and almond bars
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: Makes 12 bars
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: For the pastry base; 175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting; Pinch of salt; 50g icing sugar; 100g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing; Finely grated zest of 1 lemon; 1 medium free-range egg yolk; 1½ tsp lemon juice; For the topping; 125g unsalted butter, softened; 125g golden caster sugar; Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon; 2 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten; 25g self-raising flour; 175g ground almonds; 150g blackberry jam, homemade or shop-bought; 200g blackberries; 35g flaked almonds

Published: 30 Sep 12
Updated: 18 Mar 24

For the ultimate teatime treat, try these blackberry bars; a sweet shortcrust pastry base is topped with an almond frangipane mixture, jam and sweet blackberries.

Blackberries and almonds are a wonderful match; try it again here in this gorgeous crumble recipe.

Easy
October 2012

Test kitchen approved

Makes 12 bars
Takes 25 minutes to make, 1 hour to cook, plus chilling

For the ultimate teatime treat, try these blackberry bars; a sweet shortcrust pastry base is topped with an almond frangipane mixture, jam and sweet blackberries.

Blackberries and almonds are a wonderful match; try it again here in this gorgeous crumble recipe.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 419kcals
Fat: 27.2g (11g saturated)
Protein: 7.3g
Carbohydrates: 36.3g (24.6g sugars)
Fibre: 1.4g
Salt: 0.5g

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Ingredients

For the pastry base

175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
Pinch of salt
50g icing sugar
100g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 medium free-range egg yolk
1½ tsp lemon juice

For the topping

125g unsalted butter, softened
125g golden caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
2 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
25g self-raising flour
175g ground almonds
150g blackberry jam, homemade or shop-bought
200g blackberries
35g flaked almonds

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Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. For the pastry base, sift the flour, salt and icing sugar into a food processor. Add the butter and lemon zest, then pulse briefly until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Lightly beat the egg yolk with the lemon juice, then stir into the flour mix until it comes together in a ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, then knead until smooth.
Grease and line a 21cm x 30cm shallow tin with baking paper. Roll out the pastry to a rectangle of the same size, then use to line the base of the tin. Prick all over with a fork, then chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Bake the pastry for 15 minutes until golden, then remove and set aside to cool slightly.

For the topping, put the butter, golden caster sugar and lemon zest into a mixing bowl, then cream together with an electric hand mixer until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, then fold in the flour and ground almonds.
Spread the jam evenly over the pastry base, then carefully spread the almond mixture on top. Scatter over half the blackberries, then gently press them into the mixture. Scatter over the remaining berries.
Bake for 10 minutes, then remove and swiftly scatter over the flaked almonds. Return to the oven as quickly as you can, then bake for a further 35 minutes until richly golden and an inserted skewer comes away clean. Leave to cool, then remove from the tin and slice into bars.