Another Sweet and Gingery Winner: Oaty Ginger Crunch

When I saw of photo of Erin Clarkson's Oaty Ginger Crunch, I added it to my to-bake list right away. I love ginger crunch -- it's a New Zealand thing -- and have been making a version from David Lebovitz's blog for years. Plus, I recently made Erin's somewhat similar Ginger Caramel Slice, and it was incredibly delicious.
 
For the oaty base, you heat butter, golden syrup, and vanilla until the butter melts; combine the mixture with the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, brown sugar, and rolled oats); press the base into the bottom of a parchment-lined pan; and bake until lightly golden. While the bars are in the oven, you make the ginger topping by heating butter with golden syrup, ground sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla paste. You pour the topping over the hot cooked base right after taking it out of the oven, and let the bars set at room temperature.
I chilled the bars before cutting them to get the cleanest cuts, and my slices were pristine. I loved the strong and spicy ginger flavor in these bars, which was balanced by the sweetness of the topping. While the recipe advises that you should bring these to room temperature before serving, I preferred them cold and straight out of the fridge, when the base was pleasantly chewy. At room temperature the base was softer and not as interesting to me. 
 
These bars were excellent and I would be delighted to eat one of them any time. But I have to say that I prefer David Lebovitz's ginger crunch recipe (because of the buttery cookie base) and Erin's ginger caramel slice (because of the marvelously chewy ginger caramel). But all three of these recipes are winners.

Recipe: "Oaty Ginger Crunch" by Erin Clarkson of Cloudy Kitchen. 

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