Helen Goh’s brown butter apple and blackberry bars. Photograph: Matthew Hague/The Guardian. Food styling: Katie Smith. Prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Phoebe Altman. View image in fullscreen Helen Goh’s brown butter apple and blackberry bars. Photograph: Matthew Hague/The Guardian. Food styling: Katie Smith. Prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Phoebe Altman. The sweet spot Food Helen Goh’s recipe for brown butter apple and blackberry bars A bar for the bountiful season, with a rubbly oat crust, a soft fruit filling and a crisp topping
Prefer the Guardian on Google S eptember is always a wistful time for me. Summer has all but slipped away, the days are noticeably shorter and the children are heading back to school. But there is comfort, too, in settling back into familiar routines. These bars, with their buttery oat crust, soft fruit filling and crisp, golden topping, are just the sort of thing to have waiting for whenever everyone drifts home. I like to use a mixture of apples – some that soften and collapse into the filling, others that hold their shape – to give the bars a little more texture and interest.
These will keep for up to three days in an airtight container, and also freeze well, wrapped individually for convenience.
Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr 20 min Makes 12 bars
For the crumb base and topping 250g unsalted butter , plus extra for greasing 1 tsp anise seeds (optional) 220g plain flour 95g rolled oats 80g oat flour , or blitz rolled oats until finely ground 150g light brown sugar ½ tsp fine sea salt
For the fruit filling 750g apples (5-6 medium apples), peeled, cored and cut into 1cm dice (about 600g net weight) 80g caster sugar Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon 3 tbsp lemon juice Seeds from ½ vanilla bean pod , or ½ tsp vanilla bean paste 1 bay leaf 1 cinnamon stick 1 pinch fine sea salt 1½ tbsp cornflour 300g blackberries
Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm baking tin with greaseproof paper, leaving enough overhang to help lift out the bars later. Put the butter in a medium saucepan on a medium heat and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, for about five minutes, until it smells nutty and the milk solids turn a deep golden brown. Take off the heat, stir in the anise seeds, if using, then leave to cool for five minutes.
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Meanwhile, mix the plain flour, rolled oats, oat flour, brown sugar and salt in a large bowl. Pour over the browned butter, including all the toasted milk solids, and mix until evenly moistened. The mixture should resemble damp sand and hold together when squeezed.
Reserve about 350g of the crumb mix for the topping, then tip the rest into the lined tin, pressing firmly into an even layer ; use the base of a measuring cup or back of a spoon. This will help the bars hold together neatly when slicing. Bake for 18 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges.
While the base is in the oven, make the filling. Putu the diced apples, sugar, lemon zest and juice, vanilla, bay, cinnamon and salt in a large, deep frying pan on medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes, until the apples have softened slightly but still hold their shape.
Mix the cornflour with a tablespoon of water to make a smooth slurry, then stir into the apples. Cook for 30 seconds, until the juices thicken, then gently fold in the blackberries, just long enough for some to soften and colour the apples, while leaving plenty still whole.…