Cherry Crumble Bars

Thu, 22 October 2026

Cherry Crumble Bars

Ingredients

Base and crumble topping

· 226 g unsalted butter, softened

· 100 g caster sugar

· 100 g light brown sugar

· 1 large egg

· 2 tsp vanilla extract

· 405 g plain flour

· ¾ tsp baking powder

· 1 tsp cinnamon

· ¼ tsp salt

Cherry filling

· 250 g pitted cherries, fresh or frozen

· 80 g caster sugar—or 100 g for sour cherries

· 1½ tbsp cornflour

· 1 tbsp lemon juice

· 1 tsp vanilla extract

Optional vanilla glaze

· 90 g icing sugar, sifted

· ½ tsp vanilla extract

· 1–2 tbsp milk, added gradually

Method

1. Prepare: Heat the oven to 180°C conventional / 160°C fan. Line the tin with baking paper, leaving an overhang for lifting out.

2. Make the dough: Beat the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

3. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix into the butter mixture just until a dough forms.

4. Make the base: Set aside roughly 2 loosely filled cups of dough for the topping. Press the remaining dough evenly into the tin.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden.

6. Prepare the filling: Halve fresh cherries after pitting. If using frozen pitted cherries, leave them frozen. Toss with the sugar, cornflour, lemon juice and vanilla.

7. Spread the filling over the warm base. Break the reserved dough into small, flattened pieces and scatter over the cherries, leaving some gaps.

8. Bake: Return to the oven for approximately 40–50 minutes, until golden and the filling bubbles in the centre. Loosely cover with foil if the topping browns too quickly.

9. Cool completely in the tin before lifting out and slicing.

10. Glaze: Mix the icing sugar and vanilla with enough milk to make a thick, pourable icing. Drizzle over the cooled bars and cut into 16 squares.