Thursday, November 11, 2010

Almond and jam bars

Almond and jam bars / Barrinhas de geléia e amêndoa

You probably won’t believe me, but the universe conspired for me to make this recipe. :D

I was watching one of Bill’s shows – aren’t his daughters the cutest things ever? – and he made these bars. On the following morning, I found the exact amounts of almonds and jam in my fridge; I considered it a sign – you know how much I’m fond of signs – and started baking the bars right away. :D

Almond and jam bars
from Holiday

Almond topping:
4 ½ tablespoons (63g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup + ½ tablespoon (56g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g flaked or slivered almonds
2 tablespoons whole milk

Base and filling:
2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups + 1 ½ tablespoons (225g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (40g) corn starch
160g raspberry jam – I used a different flavor, fruits de bois

Preheat an oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly grease a 24x20cm baking pan*, line with parchment paper leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the paper as well – I used foil.
To make the almond topping, combine the butter, sugar, vanilla extract with the almonds and milk in a medium-sized saucepan. Cook over a low heat until the butter has melted, and then leave the mixture out to cool.

Make the base: combine the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and creamy. Sift the flour with cornstarch into a small bowl and add to the butter mixture in 2 batches, beating on low speed until just mixed – you might want to finish incorporating the dry ingredients with a spatula to avoid overmixing. Press the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Remove the pastry from the oven and leave it out to cool for 10 minutes.
Carefully spread the raspberry jam over the pastry base, and then spread the cooled almond topping over the jam. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until golden.
Cool completely before cutting.

* I used a square 25cm pan and tried to remove the entire baked good from the pan – using the foil hangers – before cutting: it was a complete disaster; I highly recommend it to be cut inside the pan to avoid breaking the bars

Makes 20

17 comments:

Lauren at KeepItSweet said...

such pretty bars!

Just Cake Girl said...

Lovely :))))

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

These look gorgeous Patricia!

Mercè said...

Yummy bars Patricia!

The Urban Baker said...

wow, patricia, these are kind of perfect! I love almonds and jam and I know these bars would me a very happy gal!

A Bowl Of Mush said...

These look so delicious! What a great recipe!

Torviewtoronto said...

delicious bars

Priya Suresh said...

Scrumptious bars, very tempting..

bigFATcook said...

yum yummy!!! These bars are just adorable!!

Greets from BFC !!!

Stay-At-Home-Chef said...

Uh oh...just checked my pantry and I have everything needed to make these bars. Is it a sign? You bet :)

Leah said...

These look delicious! I tried to make something similar recently and it didn't turn out too well - I see now that the corn starch is what I was missing. Thanks!

The Food Hunter said...

Yes, please!

Yours Truly said...

yumm looks deeeelicious!

Patty said...

These look great! I bet they'd be wonderful with a fig preserve mixed with citrus marmalade too. :)

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Definitely a sign ;p. It's rare that I don't have to go buy ingredients for a recipe I want to make, so I would have jumped on the chance, too.

Viv said...

that is awesome..having the EXACT amt of ingredients for a recipe...def a sign!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Lauren, thank you!

Just Cake Girl, thank you!

Peter, thank you, my friend!

Mercè, thank you!

Susan, you are far too sweet, my dear! Thank you!

A Bowl..., thank you! I'm glad you like it!

Torview.., thank you!

Priya, thank you!

Big Fat Cook, thank you!

Stay At Home chef, thank you for visiting! I hope you make these!

Leah, thank you for stopping by! I hope you nail it the next time!

Food Hunter, have as many bars as you want! ;)

Tamanna, thank you!

Patty, that sounds like a delicious idea!

Xiaolu, I feel the same way, sweetie! There's always something missing: cream, chocolate... :D

Vivienne, I know! :D
Thank you!

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