The recipe for Plum Cobbler Bars that I saw recently from The New York Times immediately caught my eye. The vibrant reddish-purple filling was so striking, and while I have made a lot of plum cakes and tarts before, I have never made a dessert that included a homemade plum jam filling.
I used Italian prune plums for the recipe. I pitted and chopped a kilo of plums and cooked them with sugar until tender; pureed the fruit and cooked down the mixture; added cornstarch mixed with sugar and briefly simmered the jam; stirred in vanilla; and let the mixture cool. I measured the jam at the end and I had about 850 ml.
The crust and topping for these bars are comprised of the same mixture of oats, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour (I used sprouted wheat flour), brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter. I pressed two-thirds of the mixture into the bottom of a parchment-lined 9-inch by 13-inch pan, spread on all of the cooled jam, and sprinkled the remaining oat mixture on top. I baked the bars until the streusel was golden.
Eight hundred and fifty milliliters is a lot of filling for a 9-inch by 13-inch pan of bars and when I cut the bars I discovered that the generous amount of jam created a real practical problem. The streusel was not attached to the bottom crust, but floated on top of thick layer of squishy jam. So when I pressed down on the top of the bars with a knife, the streusel shifted around quite a bit. In the end I was able to cut relatively neat slices, but it was challenging.
Of course, the upside of having so much jam was that it was delicious. The slightly tart filling had an intense flavor that matched its brilliant color, and it really made these bars stand out. The crust was quite thick but I liked the heartiness of the oats, and the streusel had a nice crunchy texture. These bars definitely made me a fan of homemade plum jam. The concentrated and magnified plum flavor of the filling was exceptional.
Recipe: "Plum Cobbler Bars" from The New York Times.
Previous Posts:
I used Italian prune plums for the recipe. I pitted and chopped a kilo of plums and cooked them with sugar until tender; pureed the fruit and cooked down the mixture; added cornstarch mixed with sugar and briefly simmered the jam; stirred in vanilla; and let the mixture cool. I measured the jam at the end and I had about 850 ml.
The crust and topping for these bars are comprised of the same mixture of oats, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour (I used sprouted wheat flour), brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter. I pressed two-thirds of the mixture into the bottom of a parchment-lined 9-inch by 13-inch pan, spread on all of the cooled jam, and sprinkled the remaining oat mixture on top. I baked the bars until the streusel was golden.
Of course, the upside of having so much jam was that it was delicious. The slightly tart filling had an intense flavor that matched its brilliant color, and it really made these bars stand out. The crust was quite thick but I liked the heartiness of the oats, and the streusel had a nice crunchy texture. These bars definitely made me a fan of homemade plum jam. The concentrated and magnified plum flavor of the filling was exceptional.
Recipe: "Plum Cobbler Bars" from The New York Times.
Previous Posts:
- "Four Layers, Three Bakes, One Tasty Bar: Plum and Almond Crumble Slice," September 20, 2018.
- "Maybe Less Cake Is More?: Gingery Plum Cake," September 17, 2018.
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