Well, unless you’re mashing up two things that are great separately and gross together, like steak and whipped cream. No, thank you. But when the mash-up combines the best of both worlds, mama is happy.
What could be better than a raspberry crumb bar, you wonder? How about a raspberry crumb bar with cheesecake filling? Do I have your attention now?
The school year starts in two weeks and I’m in overdrive, but I have to pause and fulfill my civic duty. Yep, that’s right. Jury duty calls!
This is the fourth time I’ve ever been on jury duty, and the second time in two years. Lest you think I am a star juror, banish that thought from your mind. That’s not it. I must have some kind of force that emits rays to jury selection people. Otherwise, my popularity makes no sense.
Years ago, I was called to a six-week jury trial at the beginning of summer. They took four days to make a selection, and the whole time I was really worried that I would lose my entire summer vacation to our justice system. Thanks to the powers above, I wasn’t selected and my summer remained intact. But close call!
Kenny was also called to jury duty a few weeks ago, and he was so excited. Unlike me, he’s never served before, so it was a novelty for him. He went very happily and waited to be called, and…nope. They dismissed him around noon. But he can feel good that he’s off the hook for another few years. Maybe.
Whenever I have jury duty, snacks are important. They keep me cheerful during the monotonous hours of waiting for something to happen. The thing is, though, the snacks have to be easily packed. That’s where these bars come into play!
The bottom and top are made of the same crumbly oat mix (gluten-free, of course). I like to double up on the raspberry jam by first spreading some over the bottom layer, pouring in the cheesecake filling, and then dolloping some more on top, swirling it with a knife. And on top? Those miraculous crumbs!
I might have to do my civic duty for the umpteenth time in my relatively young life, but I’ll do it happily as long as I’m kept fortified. These raspberry cheesecake crumb bars should do the trick!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, brown sugar and salt. Add the melted butter and mix until crumbly.
- Set aside about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the mixture. Take the remaining crumb mixture and press it firmly into the prepared pan.
- Spread the 1/2 of the raspberry jam over the bottom layer.
- In a medium bowl, make the filling. Combine the cream cheese, egg and sugar, mixing well until smooth. A fully softened cream cheese is ideal (I leave mine on the counter for an hour) to prevent a lumpy batter.
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the bottom layer. Take the remaining raspberry jam and spoon it onto the filling in even intervals. Use a knife to gently swirl the jam into the cheesecake filling.
- Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the filling layer evenly.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Cool completely. Chill overnight.
- Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.
I’m addicted to crumb. You show me a crumb cake and I’ll pick off the topping. It’s a dangerous game to play. Don’t hand me anything in the realm of crumb and expect me to eat it like a normal person.
When done correctly, any crumb cake or bar is overflowing with crumb. A crumb fiend like me has to be satisfied, after all. These beautiful bites of heaven are filled with raspberry jam and sandwiched with crumbly oat goodness. They’re also effortlessly gluten-free, which is the only way I wanna do it.
A lot of people who attempt GF baking really don’t understand how it works. They buy the GF flour replacements and assume that it will work out. But folks, a replacement is often a recipe for mediocrity.
That’s why it’s important to bake with unprocessed ingredients you’d use even without the gluten issue. Baking becomes a more natural experience that way, and it tastes better. In this case, I used my ever trusty oat flour (which is ground-up oats) as a base. Because really, who doesn’t love a shot of oatmeal goodness in a crumb bar?
When we don’t force things, they tend to work out better. To be honest, that’s not a lesson I’m very good at learning, but it holds true nonetheless. Some of the best opportunities that have come my way happened when I wasn’t looking for them. I count Kenny among those, as well as the program I teach in. All good stuff.
The same holds true for my brainstorming process. To get all these recipes to you three times a week while juggling a full-time teaching gig and my own children, I have to really let the flow take over. When I force myself to be creative and invent desserts, it tends to be more forced. But when I listen to my intuition, it works out a lot better.
For instance, I’ve been craving crumb bars like crazy since summer hit. I’ve made more than enough crumb bars for JAB, but I really don’t care. We’re going there again!
The gluten-free thing is just an option, but I think it works out well here. Instead of regular flour, which has no taste, oat flour lends a nuttiness to these bars that is really quite lovely. As you know, I don’t eat a GF diet, but my beloved does. So if the bars work out better this way without anyone forcing the issue, so much the better!
Sometimes it’s valuable to just sit back and let opportunity head your way. It might require some patience, but if you work hard and do your best, it will probably come sooner or later!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, brown sugar and salt. Add the melted butter and mix until crumbly. Add the pecans and stir until just combined.
- Set aside about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the mixture. Take the remaining crumb mixture and press it firmly into the prepared pan.
- Spread the raspberry jam over the bottom layer.
- Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the raspberry layer evenly.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.
Purim is on Thursday. Who knows what I’m talking about?
Every spring, the Jewish holiday of Purim occurs. It’s one of the fun ones, following the whole “they tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat” mode of celebration. On that day, people dress in costume, deliver baskets of treats to friends, give charity, and eat hamantaschen.
This delightful cookie is named after the villain of the Purim story, Haman. These are triangular-shaped cookies that are traditionally filled with fruit or chocolate, but I’ve switched things up a bit. The dough here has a Linzer cookie twist with ground almonds, and the filling is chocolate raspberry. Talk about celebrating in style!
Holidays are the most fun with children. And I’m not really a kid person, which often surprises people because I both teach for a living and have three children of my own. But really, that’s not relevant. I don’t teach because I love kids; I teach because I want to help them. And as for my children, they’re mine. I love them. But other people’s? Well, depends on how well-behaved they are.
Anyway, I digress. It’s so much fun to see kids get excited about holiday celebrations. For weeks, I’ve been watching my kids prepare for Purim. They’ve been singing songs, making masks, and doing project after project. If I became bored with it all before they were born, now I’m right back into it.
In fact, my costume is all set to go. As long as my daughters insist on being Disney princesses every year (this year it’s Aurora and Rapunzel, while last year was Anna and Belle), I will persist in being a Disney villain. Last year I was Maleficent; this year I am Cruella. It actually works really well in making them less afraid of the evil parade of women Disney loves to share. Because really, they’re all quite terrifying.
Oh, well. We’ll leave the discussion of sexist portrayals of women as evil throughout history for another blog post. I’m already excited about a holiday. Let’s keep the energy there!
Hamantaschen are deceptively hard to make. They seem just like cookies, but the epic fail rate is pretty high for so many people. Among the possible issues you can encounter: dough is too sticky, not sticky enough, puffs up obscenely the oven, the edges open, the filling explodes. See? This Purim thing isn’t all fun and games.
This recipe is foolproof if you follow it. Please don’t improvise! And once your dough is rolled out in circles, pinch those edges together really well. You want almost no filling showing through. When I made these with my kids, they definitely had issues. But they’re kids, so it’s fine. It was fun anyway. The ones they made aren’t pictured here, of course.
Happy Purim to all of my readers. Whether you celebrate or not, try and get your hands on some hamantaschen! They’re worth the effort!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat again until light and fluffy. Add the egg, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract. Mix until smooth.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and stir until just combined.
- Shape the dough into a flat disc and place in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least one hour or up to two days.
- When you're ready to bake, take the dough out the fridge and let it soften for 10-15 minutes.
- While that's happening ,make the filling. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for one minute. Stir until smooth, microwaving an additional 30 seconds if needed. Mix the melted chocolate with the raspberry preserves and lemon juice until all ingredients are combined. The filling will harden quickly, but you will still be able to use it.
- Place the dough on a floured surface and roll it out to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a circular cookie cutter or the top of a drinking glass, make circles in the dough.
- Place about 1/2 tablespoon of filling in the center of each circle. Pinch two sides together at the top, and then fold the bottom side up to meet the other two, forming a triangle. Make sure the sides are pinched well together, leaving very little space in the middle. The hamantaschen will open slightly while baking.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
Over the past several weeks, I’ve given you quite a few Thanksgiving pie options. But I couldn’t resist adding just one more!
As a baking blogger, the holidays provide inspiration and ideas. I love having the time of year do the recipe brainstorming for me, especially when a tart like this is the result. Guys, I kept my very favorite for last. Yes, I’ll play favorites today.
This past weekend, Kenny and I got away overnight to a posh hotel in historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. We’re lucky to live near all kinds of little getaway spots, and even though it was chilly, it was really lovely to walk on the waterfront and see the boats and pretend it was a lot warmer.
The best part of the hotel was the pool. It was a heated indoor pool, and getting in was like being enveloped in a warm water hug. Maybe I’ve never told you this before, but I love baths. Baths are a daily thing for me, even if I’ve showered too. I love the bubbles, the scalding water, the jets (yep, my tub is tricked out), and the music playing softly in the background as I let all the stress melt out of my tired muscles.
Other than dessert, I have these other material loves in life: a good book, a great workout, and a hot bath. So as I chugged back and forth in that heated pool, I realized that my life would be pretty luxurious if I could come home from work every day, jump into a heated pool, swim for a while, and then dry off in a lounge chair with a book and some truffles.
I just heard Steven Tyler in my head shrieking “Dream On.”
If the pool fantasy can’t come true, I’ll take this tart instead. It’s all my favorite things. Maybe not everyone’s on the marzipan bandwagon, but I really don’t care. This is the best.
The crust is buttery and light, with some almond meal thrown in for kicks. Piled into the crust is raspberry jam, a baked marzipan layer, and thick chocolate ganache with toasted almond flair. If you want an elegant but totally doable dessert to present tomorrow, this is your girl.
Okay, kids. I’ve got more baking to do tonight, so I’ll catch you later. I’m pretty excited to get all those pies lined up on the table, and I hope you are, too. Have a safe, joyful, warm and cozy Thanksgiving with family and friends. From JAB and me to you, happy holiday season!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a tart pan (the kind with the removable bottom) with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine the almond meal and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cream the butter, powdered sugar and egg yolk in the bowl of a stand mixer. Adding each gradually, alternate the flour and the almond mixture until both are fully incorporated.
- Press the dough into the prepared tart pan, working it evenly along the bottom and up the sides.
- Take the raspberry jam and spread it evenly along the bottom of the crust. Set aside.
- Make the marzipan filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the almond paste with the brown sugar and egg until well combined.
- Carefully spread the marzipan mixture over the raspberry jam. It will be sticky and some of the jam might come up, but spread lightly and evenly over the surface.
- Bake the tart for 20-25 minutes until the crust and filling begin to turn golden. Remove from the oven to cool.
- Make the ganache. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips and heavy cream for one minute. Stir until smooth, heating an additional 20 seconds if needed.
- Pour the ganache over the baked tart, spreading the chocolate evenly to the edges. Sprinkle the toasted almonds on top. Cool until set.
- Cut into wedges and serve.
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Today’s pie is really a tart, and I’m feeling rather European because it’s a Linzer tart. Translation: it’s got an almond base and there’s raspberry involved. I also worked in some dark chocolate for good measure. Can’t hurt, right?
Basically, the tart dough is made of almond meal, which I buy at Trader Joe’s (you can grind up the almonds on your own if you’d prefer), flour, some butter, and sugar. Simple, delicious. I’m a huge fan.
You work half the dough into a tart pan with a removable bottom, spread on a chocolate raspberry filling (easy to make!), and make a pattern on top with the rest of the dough. The typical look is lattice, but lattice bores me sometimes. I decided to try this ladder-type pattern instead, which was lots of fun.
Then it got even better. I used my powdered sugar dusting wand (a totally useful kitchen gadget and quite an obsession of mine) to make the top look nice and snowy. And then I tasted my tart. Just a bite, before freezing the rest for Thanksgiving dinner.
It was hard to stop there! I have a thing with chocolate and almond, so I’ll easily put away a couple of slices on Thursday. And that thick layer of chocolate raspberry sandwiched between the marzipan-like dough is pretty fabulous. I’ve never felt more proud.
Advice: instead of doing all the usual pies this year on Thanksgiving, change it up a bit. This Linzer tart is definitely a fun addition to the usual pecan and pumpkin, so go a little crazy. Your family won’t mind!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a tart pan (the kind with the removable bottom) with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine the almond meal and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cream the butter, powdered sugar and egg yolk in the bowl of a stand mixer. Adding each gradually, alternate the flour and the almond mixture until both are fully incorporated.
- Press half the dough into the prepared tart pan, working the dough along the bottom and up the sides. Form the other half into a ball on waxed paper. Place both in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the filling.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave for one minute. Stir until smooth, microwaving an additional 30 seconds if needed. Mix the melted chocolate with the raspberry preserves and lemon juice until all ingredients are combined.
- Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator and spread the filling evenly into the bottom crust.
- Roll out the other half of the dough to form a circle. Using a knife, cut the dough into strips. You can either form a lattice pattern or create a pattern of your choice.
- Bake the tart for 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Let the tart cool completely.
- Dust the top with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve.
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With all due respect, that’s a pile of $#!*. Just not true at all, I’m afraid. The darkest hour is 9:30 PM when your kids have gone to bed and you wanted to watch episodes of Cake Boss but you can’t because you’re in piping hell. The cake isn’t looking right, melted frosting is leaking out of the wrong side of the piping bag into your hair, and you feel nothing but deep despair.
Or does that just happen to me?
But I’m happy to report that the incident to which I’m referring has no bearing on the way this cake tastes. This amazing, holy you-know-what-this-is-so-good cake.
Everything else is awesome. I love using pound cake when I’m doing layers because the stuff is solid. I sliced this cake, flipped it around, stacked it, and did all sorts of acrobatics with it. She held firm!
And I’ve been on a raspberry kick lately. Can’t exactly figure out why, but it started with the raspberry crumb bars I made a few weeks ago and now it’s out of control!
It’s a pound cake (very easy, no mixer!) with raspberry and almond filling and a basic vanilla buttercream frosting. Sigh. I love a happy ending. Just ignore the piping issues, people. Pretend it didn’t happen!
Besides, have I mentioned the very best thing about this cake? Dairy-free! That’s right. Turns out that while I used to think a pound cake needed butter like I need a good 7 hours of sleep a night, margarine and soy milk will work fine. I had to make this one without dairy for various reasons, and it worked out great! But feel free to use butter and milk. It ain’t gonna hurt.
This cake turned out to be a winner. Nice, even-ish layers with the perfect, delicate amount of raspberry-almond filling. I used a product called “Schmear” for the almond, which comes in different flavors. It’s kind of like a marzipan spread. First I put a thin layer of that on the cake layers, followed by a thin layer of raspberry jam. I didn’t want the cake to look like it was bleeding.
By the way, I learned in cake decorating class that bakers brush a coat of simple syrup on their cakes after they level them and before they put in the filling. I tried it, and the result was an even moister cake! I can’t recommend it enough. Just bring equal parts sugar and water to a boil. The second it starts boiling, remove from the heat. Easy peasy!
And the frosting is also very simple, as you’ll see below. I used most of it for the cake, and then I dyed the rest pink for the aforementioned piping debacle.
If you want to make a great cake for a birthday or engagement party that’s light and elegant but not so hard, this is it! Get piping!
Cake Layers:
- 1 cup margarine, melted
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup vanilla soy milk
Frosting:
- 1 pound margarine, softened to room temperature
- 1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Filling:
- raspberry jam
- almond “Schmear” or a spreadable marzipan
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Coat the sides of two eight or nine-inch cake pans with cooking spray and put a parchment paper circle on the bottom of each pan.
Combine the melted margarine and sugar, stirring until smooth. Add the eggs, lemon juice, and extracts, and mix again. Add the dry ingredients and stir until incorporated. Finally, add the soy milk and mix until the batter is without lumps.
Pour the batter into each cake pan evenly and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Immediately invert each cake into heavy duty plastic wrap and seal the cake in, leaving the parchment paper on the bottom.
Allow cakes to cool, and then if you have time, put them in the refrigerator overnight.
When you’re ready to decorate, make the frosting. Cream the margarine in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar. When everything is mixed in, add the vanilla and mix again.
Remove the cakes from the plastic wrap and peel off the parchment paper. Level the tops of the cakes and then, using a serrated knife, carefully slice each cake layer in half. If desired, brush the top of each cake with simple syrup.
Layer raspberry jam and (if you have it) almond filling onto the cake in a thin layers. Then, add the frosting and stack the layers, doing a crumb coat. Refrigerate the cake for at least one hour. Cover your bowl of frosting.
When the cake is chilled, ice it with the remaining frosting, being sure to mix the frosting vigorously before covering to get air bubbles out. Decorate as desired.
]]>During one happy farmer’s market outing many moons ago, I sampled the best raspberry crumb bars in the universe. No, I’m not being hyperbolic. They were incredible. I would actually pick one over a Reese’s. That should give you an idea of how amazing they were.
Since that one time, I’ve been obsessed with recreating the bars. It’s a tough standard to meet, but I keep testing recipes. And this one is great!
I judge any crumb bar by, well, the crumbs. This recipe has tons of them. Everywhere! Of all sizes from big to small. And the best part of this process is that you only make one dough. No need to dirty more than your mixer’s bowl and paddle!
Some people make their own raspberry jam. I do not. I’m sure I’m missing out. On the other hand, I did have time to watch Mad Men last night. So you figure out if it’s worth it!
These are thick and can’t help but leave a trail of crumb and raspberry everywhere they go. Don’t let little hands near them unless you’re outside and armed with a paper towel roll, a bucket, and some water balloons. Otherwise, the stickiness will take over your world!
Enjoy this attempt of mine to recreate a perfect moment in my past. But I’m not done yet! More raspberry crumb bars to come! Another day. For now, we’re done!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 egg
- 2 and 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 cup oats
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup raspberry jelly
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Coat an 8 x 8 pan with cooking spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the dry ingredients by hand briefly. Then put the bowl on the mixer base and put the butter and egg in the bowl. Beat for 1-2 minutes until the mixture becomes crumbly.
Press half of the mixture into the pan. Spread the jelly over the base. Crumble the remaining dough over the top.
Bake until golden, from 35-40 minutes. Cool and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.
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