PRUNE BARS - CARRÉS AUX QUETSCHES

Nature, in August, is particularly plentiful and offers so many wonderful goodies. For a foodie like me who loves seasonal produces, this period of the year is paradisiac and highly exciting!

When the stalls of (food)markets abund with all those precious greengroceries, I cannot moderate my vegetable and fruit consumption and tend to compulsively buy everything (well not exactly) that makes me salivate.

It is a fact that every time I go shopping, I come back home with tons of fresh and local produces from the Geneva area. My fridge literally explodes and cannot even "swallow" the tiniest cherry tomato anymore...

During this plentiful period, One of my alltime favorite stone fruit is fresh Swiss prunes (also known as "Quetsches" in France and "Zwetschge" in Swiss Germany/Germany). Those lovely violet little plums are so pretty, addictive, delicate-tasting and versatile (tarts, pies, compote, crumbles, ice creams, savory dishes, etc...) that I can never get enough of them.

The people who know me well and read this blog regularly must have noticed that dessert bars rule my world and that I will never tire of them (the same goes for prunes). So, It was very naturally that I decided upon baking that treat and using prune "jam" as a filling, thus combinung two of my favorite things.

After having searched the net for slices recipes which would enlist prunes as an ingredient, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to find any recipe of that kind and that I would have to invent one for the occasion...

So, I opted for a zesty and slightly smoky lemon-scented crust with cocoa nibs (that were given to me by the kind and generous Mamina, a French foodblogger at "Et Si C'était Bon?" - merci beaucoup!!!), a tangy and fragrantly spicy 5 spice prune filling and a coconutty and almondy crumble topping.

As you can imagine, those "Prune Bars" were fantastic and so enjoyable with their layers of refined flavors that blend equisitely together.

~ Prune Bars ~
Recipe by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2009.

Makes about 16 bars.

Ingredients for the "Prune Filling":
2 Cups (~ 250g) Fresh prunes/plums, cut in cubes
2 Tbs (30g) Castor sugar
2 Tbs (30g/ml) Lime juice
1/2 Tsp (2.5g) Five spice powder
1 Tsp (5g) Cornstarch
Ingredients for the "Crust":
1 1/4 Cups (160g) Plain white flour
1/3 Cup (70g) Castor sugar
1/2 Tsp (2.5g) Sea salt
1/2 Cup (120g) Unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
The zest of 1/2 organic lemon, finely grated
1/2 Tsp (2.5g) Vanilla extract
2-3 Tsps (10-15g) Cocoa nibs (optional)
Ingredients for the "Crumb Topping":
4 Tbs of the Crust mixture
1/4 Cup (22g) Almond sliced
1/3 Cup (30g) Sweetened coconut

Method for the "Plum Filling:
1. In a non-reactive saucepan, sprinkle the sugar and spice over the plums and let the fruit macerate for about 20 - 30 minutes.
2. Add the lime juice and cook the plums until the liquid has evaporated and the fruit is thick and chunky. You can mash some of them if you prefer.
3. Let cool and then incorporate the cornstarch.
Method for the "Crust":
4. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).
5. Grease the bottom and sides of a 13 x 13cm (9 by 9-inch) baking pan.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Set aside.
7. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter, vanilla, lemon and sugar at medium speed until combined, about 1 minute.
8. At low speed, add the flour mixture and mix just until crumbly.
9. Set aside 4 tbs of this mixture for the crumb topping.
10. Mix 2 tsps cocoa nibs to the rest of the dough and turn out into the prepared pan.
11. With floured fingertips, press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.
12. Using a spatula or the back of the spoon, spread the plum filling evenly over the dough.
Method for the "Crumb Topping":
13. Mix all ingredients for the crumb topping and spread evenly over the prune jam.
14. Bake on the middle of the oven, until golden brown 30 to 40 minutes.
15. Cool the bars completely before cutting them into squares or rectangles.

Remarks:
You can replace the castor sugar by brown (light or dark) sugar.
If you have no prunes at hand, try this recipe with plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots or evn bananas.
Those bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Serving suggestions:
Serve those bars with whipped cream, clotted cream, mascarpone, ice cream or just a glass of ice cold milk.

***************

~ Carrés Aux Quetshes/Pruneaux ~
Recette par Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2009.

Pour environ 16 carrés.

Ingrédients pour la "Garniture Aux Quetsches":
2 Tasses (~ 250g) de Quetsches/pruneaux, coupés en morceaux
2 CS (30g) de Sucre cristallisé
2 CS (30g/ml) de Jus de lime
1/2 CC (2.5g) de 5 épices
1 CC (15g) de Maizena
Ingrédients pour la "Croûte":
1 1/4 Tasses (160g) de Farine blanche
1/3 de Tasse (70g) de Sucre cristallisé
1/2 CC (2.5g) de Sel de mer
120g de Beurre non-salé, coupé en petits cubes
Le zeste d'un 1/2 citron bio, finement rapé
1/2 CC 82.5g) d'Extrait de vanille pure
2-3 CC (10-15g) d'Eclats de cacao (en option)
Ingrédients pour le "Streusel":
4 CS du Mélange pour la croûte
1/4 de Tasse (22g) d'Amandes éffilées
1/3 de Tasses (30g) de Noix de coco rapée, sucrée

Méthode pour la "Garniture Aux Quetsches":
1. Dans une casserole, mélanger le sucre et les épices avec les quetsches en cubes, puis laisser macérer pendant 20 à 30 minutes.
2. Ajouter le jus de lime et cuire jusqu'à ce que le liquide se soit évaporé, que la garniture soit épaisse et que les fruits aient "fondu".
3. Laisser refroidir puis incorporer la maizena.
Méthode pour la "Croûte":
4. Préchauffer le four à 180° C et positionner la grille au milieu du four.
2. Beurrer un moule à Brownies de 13 x 13cm.
3. Dans un petit bol, mélanger la farine avec le sel et mettre de côté.
4. Mettre le beurre, la vanille, le zeste et le sucre dans le bol d'un mixer afin que le mélange blanchisse, environ 1 minute.
5. Ajouter le mélange farine/sel et pulser suffisamment afin que le mélange soit sabloneux et grossier.
6. Mettre de côté 4 CS de ce mélange (pour le "streusel").
7. Mélanger 2 CC d'éclats de cacao avec le reste du mélange pour la croûte, puis étaler dans le moule.
8. Avec vos doigts (enfarinés) presser le mélange afin d'obtenir une croûte lisse et uniforme.
9. A l'aide d'une spatule, étaler la garniture aux quetsches sur la croûte.
Méthode pour le "Streusel":
10. Mélanger tous les ingrédients pour le streusel et saupoudrer le dessus des carrés avec.
11. Cuire pendant 30 à 40 minutes, jusqu'à ce que le dessus des carrés soit doré.
12. Laisser refroidir sur une grille et couper en carrés seulement une fois que les barres sont complétement refroidies.

Remarques:
Vous pouvez remplacer le sucre cristallisé par du sucre brun (clair ou foncé).
Si vous n'avez pas de quetsches à la maison, vous pouvez faire ces carrés avec des prunes, pêches, nectarines, abricots ou même des bananes.
Ces carrés peuvent être conservés au frigo pendant environ 3 jours.

Idées de présentation:
Servir ces carrés avec de la crème fouettée, de la "clotted cream", du mascarpone, de la glace ou simplement avec un verre de lait très froid.