These Cardamom Plum Cobbler Bars are filled with a homemade plum filling and a pinch of cardamom. A great breakfast or tea-time treat!
Ending the week on a sweet note is not a bad idea, right?
These Plum Cobbler bars are gooey, soft, buttery, and sweet. Filled with a simple homemade plum filling and spiced with a hint of cardamom, these make a delicious breakfast or afternoon sweet treat. If you like fruity bars, you're going to love these Cardamom Spiced Plum Crumble Bars - they are bursting with flavor!
The base and crumble topping of these plum bars is made using flour, oats, brown sugar, butter, baking powder, a hint of cardamom, and a pinch of salt. The filling is a simple homemade cardamom plum jam made with fresh plums, sugar, a dash of vanilla and cardamom and some cornstarch. What's more, these juicy spiced plum bars taste even better the next day!
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Ingredients and Variations
For the base and topping of these spiced plum cobbler bars, you will need:
Flour - All-purpose flour works well here. You can also use cake flour if AP is not available. For best results and accuracy, weigh your ingredients using digital kitchen scales.
Oats - Both old-fashioned rolled oats and quick/instant oats work great for this plum crumble.
Sugar - For the base, use light brown or brown sugar.
Butter - You will need to use cubed cold butter for the base. Go for unsalted butter if possible.
Ground Cardamom - If you're not a fan of cardamom, you can substitute with ground cinnamon or ginger.
Baking Powder - Leavening agent.
Salt - Just a pinch to balance the sweetness.
For the filling, you will need:
Plums - Use fresh black or red plums. Make sure to wash and stone the plums, but you don't need to skin them. Plum skin contains pectin which is required to achieve the jam-like consistency for the filling.
Sugar - Use granulated sugar for the filling.
Vanilla Extract - This is optional but gives a delicious flavor boost.
Ground Cardamom - If you're not a fan of cardamom, you can substitute with ground cinnamon or ginger.
Cornstarch - Required for thickening the filling. Make sure to dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tsp. of cold water before adding to the mixture.
How to Make Cardamom Plum Cobbler Bars
- Make the Filling
Dice the plums (do not peel them!) and place them in a medium-sized saucepan.
Add sugar, vanilla, and cardamom and bring to a simmer on medium-low heat.
Simmer for 8-10 minutes until the plums have softened.
Use a potato masher or a fork to mash the plums.
Dissolve the cornstarch in some cold water and add the the plum mixture.
Simmer for another 8-10 minutes until the mixture has thickened.
Transfer mixture to a glass bowl and cool plum mixture.
Note: If you prefer a completely smooth filling, blend it using an immersion blender. - Make the Base and Topping
Place all base ingredients except butter in a food processor and blend until finely ground.
Add cold cubed butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. - Bake Base
Pre-heat oven to 175°C (350F) and line a 9x9" baking pan with parchment paper.
TIP: Cut parchment paper long enough from the sides so that you can use it to pull out the crumble once ready.
Press ⅔ of the base mixture in an even layer at the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Bring out of the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. - Add Filling + Topping and Bake
Pour the cooled plum mixture on the bottom crust.
Top with remaining crumb mixture.
Return to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is slightly golden brown and the jam bubbles.
Allow crumble to cool down in the pan for 20-30 minutes. Note: Crumble will be very soft when hot and will harden as it cools.
Transfer to a refrigerator and chill for 2-3 hours.
Slice and serve!
FAQs
These plum cobbler bars taste great 2-3 days after baking them!
Store them in an aright container in a refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Old fashioned rolled oats, flaked or quick oats work well for this recipe. Avoid using steel-cut oats.
For these cobbler bars, black or red plums work perfectly. I haven't tried making these using other types of plums, so I'm not sure how other types will work out.
No! The plums' skin/peel contains pectin, which is a type of starch that provides the structure needed to achieve the jam-like consistency for the filling. If you prefer a "smoother" filling, blend it using a hand-stick or stand blender.
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Cardamom Plum Cobbler Bars
Ingredients
Cardamom-Plum Filling
- 450 g fresh plums stoned (See Notes) (1 lb)
- ½ tsp. ground cardamom
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ cup)
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp. cold water
Crumble Base and Topping
- 185 g all-purpose flour (1½ cup)
- 120 g oats (1½ cup) old fashioned rolled oats or oat flakes
- 150 g light brown sugar (¾ cup)
- ½ tsp. ground cardamom
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 226 g unsalted cold butter (1 cup) cubed
Instructions
Cardamom Plum Filling
- Wash, stone, and dice plums (no need to peel them).
- Place diced plums, sugar, vanilla extract, and cardamom in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until softened.
- Use a potato masher to mash softened plums. Stir in cornstarch in cold water mixture and simmer for another 8-10 minutes, uncovered, until mixture thickens.
- Transfer plum filling to a glass bowl and allow to cool. Note: if you prefer a smooth filling, blend it using a hand-stick blender.
Crumble Base and Topping
- Preheat oven to 175°C (350F) and line a 9x9" baking pan with parchment paper.
- Place flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a food processor and pulse until oats are finely ground.
- Add cubed cold butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly.
Assembly and Baking
- Press around ⅔ of the mixture to the bottom of the lined pan and bake for 12 minutes.
- Bring pan out of the oven, allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then pour plum mixture over the top and smoothen with a spatula. Top with remaining crumble.
- Return to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until top turns slighly golden brown.
- Allow to cool in pan for 20-30 minutes (crumble will be very soft when hot), then pull the side edges of the parchment paper and transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling.
- Transfer crumble to refrigerator for 2-3 hours to firm up before slicing and serving.
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