Summer Jam

My friend Summer emailed me recently to talk about the possibilities of making jam with glucose. I've never made jam before, though hope to one day, so really didn't know what I was talking about. Summer has, however, and we had quite a discussion about the properties of sugar and about pectin in fruit and decided it was well worth a try. So she went away and did the hard work, while I just watched my letterbox for a few days until some was delivered.

Apple Fruit Bar

Reuben is a fan of those fruit bars that you can buy at the supermarket, and we have got them for him occasionally. But I do like homemade snacks for him, and thought I would like to have a go at making him something similar. I came across a recipe for Berry Shortcake Slice in the NZ Gardener magazine, and it was just what I needed to get me started. But I had a hankering to try it with apple rather than berries - perhaps because that is the flavour we have usually bought, and perhaps because apples are always available in our house when berries are not. I played around with the recipe a bit (including reducing the sugar) and think the results are way beyond a child's basic snack. This would do very well warmed with cream for pudding, you just might like to think of a more stylish name for for it.

I highly recommend that you don't make it late morning when both children need your attention and everyone is needing lunch. Believe me.

The mixture looked a bit dry so I played around with the butter to try and get it right. You may need to do the same but it will be really quite crumbly, so try this first. If you don't have mixed spice just increase the cinnamon a little.

Apple Fruit Bar

180g butter, softened

1 cup sugar (caster if possible)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

2 apples

Soften the butter and beat in a mixer with sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. 

Sift in the flour and beat until the mixture becomes a crumbly dough. Add spices.

Set aside 1 cup of the mixture, and pour the rest in to a lined slice tin. Press down firmly, then grate 2 apples and pile on to the top. Crumble the remainder of the mixture over the apple.

Bake 40-45 mins at 180 degrees.

Update: I have tried this recipe again with apricots - one tin apricots + a handful of chopped dried apricots. I liked it more than the apple. Make sure you drain and pat dry the tinned apricots so the slice doesn't get too soggy.

This Fruit Bar recipe is my (first ever!) entry in to the Sweet New Zealand Monthly Blogging Event. This month it's being hosted by Plum Kitchen and you read can all about it here.