Blueberry and Lemon Crumb Bars
These Blueberry and Lemon Crumb Bars are sweet and nutty with a thick luscious berry jam sandwiched between a homemade base and crumbly crispy top.
Servings 9 squares
Calories 182kcal
Ingredients
Base
- 1 ½ cups almond meal or almond flour
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ cup monkfruit sweetener
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Filling
- 2 cups berries I’ve used 1 cup of blueberries and 1 cup of raspberries
- 2 tablespoons black chía seeds
- ⅓ cup monkfruit sweetener
- ½ cup tap water
Crumble
- 1 cup almond meal or almond flour
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup monkfruit sweetener
- ¼ cup desicated or shredded coconut
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160℃/350℉ and then, prepare a 20cm / 8inch square baking tray with baking/parchment paper. Set aside.
Base
- Mix: Mix 1 ½ cups almond meal or almond flour, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, ¼ cup monkfruit sweetener and 3 tablespoons butter for the crust.
- Layer: Place the grainy mixture into the prepared tray and press it down evenly. Bake the crust for 7 to 8 minutes or until the sides are getting brownish.
Filling
- Prepare: Prepare the jam by activating 2 tablespoons black chía seeds with ½ cup tap water. Let the seeds sit for about 30 minutes. The result will be a gelatinous paste.
- Make: Place the chía paste, 2 cups berries and ⅓ cup monkfruit sweetener into a blender or food processor and pulse to combine. Different berries will have different levels of "tartness". Therefore I recommend tasting the jam at this stage for sweetness and adjust to your taste by adding a little more granulated sweetener in if required.
- Thicken and Cool: Transfer the jam to a pan over medium heat. Without stirring, wait until the jam thickens. The excess liquid needs to evaporate, so there’s no need to stir, however do keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn. The jam will develop its thickest consistency when cold. Let it cool while you make the crumble.
Crumble Top
- Mix: Mix together 1 cup almond meal or almond flour, ⅓ cup monkfruit sweetener, ¼ cup desicated or shredded coconut and2 teaspoons lemon zest. Add 4 tablespoons butter chopped into cubes. Use your hands to combine the ingredients until a crumbly consistency.
- Layers: Spread the jam onto the base, and crumble on top of it.
- Bake: Bake these bars at 160℃/350℉ for 15 minutes or until the crumble is golden.
Notes
- Almond Meal/Almond Flour: The packet I used for this recipe had Almond Meal on the label and, however sometimes it can be called Almond Flour. I think its best to use the variety that is more coarsely ground as opposed to the more finely ground flour types as it gives more texture and nutty flavour.
- Granulated Sweetener: I used granulated monkfruit sweetener that measures like sugar in this recipe. It blends in perfectly with the base, filling and crumb topping to create the perfect level of sweetness with no bitter aftertaste. Alternatively you could also use Stevia, or any other sweetener that measures like sugar.
- Berries: I used a combination of frozen raspberries and blueberries to create that gorgeous deep reddish/purple jam. I love using a mix of berries as it gives different textures to the jam, however using just blueberries or raspberries on their own is also a great option that would work equally well.
- Chia Seeds: The chia seeds act as a natural thickener for the jam so there is no gelatin or other jam setting agent required. Thickening the jam to the perfect consistency is as easy as soaking the chia seeds in water so they double or triple in size the add them to the berry mixture! I used black chia seeds as they are the most common, but feel free to use white if that if what you have on hand.
- Lemon: Just the zest of the lemon is used in this recipe as it has lots of flavour helps to balance out the sweetness and the tartness or the berries to create a taste that is just right. I don’t use the juice of the lemon and find that its not needed. Make sure to buy lemons with a good clean skin since this is part you’ll be using.
- Butter: this is essential to create the base as it acts as a binder bring the ingredients together, and for the crumb topping to create those little mountains of crunch that make the crumb topping so delicious. Whilst full fat butter will provide more flavour, to make it the healthiest possible, you could use a low fat butter.
- Coconut: Coconut is used in the crumble top to add texture and volume and it provides a lovely coconutty flavour to contrast with the nuttiness of the almond meal and the sweet and tart berry filling.
Nutrition
Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g
