(Peach Almond) Craquelure Jam Bar - or, a subtle cracking.
The Craquelure continues, this time with a recipe!
Can a homebaked dessert contain meaning? Can it symbolize a universal condition? Can it be a vessel of sweet truth? Or is it just a really great thing to make for family and friends?
It started with a word that I found so delightful that I was repeating it several times a day to anyone who would listen. And as it rolled around my mouth and about my head I started making associations. Of course a culinary one. There was an art connection, well demonstrated by a recent visit to the Met. I even made up a progressive verb craqueluring (the act of accepting One’s fine lines and subtle cracks)
The final iteration (as of 6/4): Peach Almond Craquelure Bars. We had been invited by my good friend for Patio Shabbat Lunch on Saturday. I instantly knew what I would bring for the Hostess Gift.
I used Milk Bar’s oatmeal crust as a jumping-off spot and I sprang for the good French jam which provided a nice sweet chewy underlayer for the fresh sliced peaches (still small and underripe, but it’s early in the season). The pebbled brown sugar baked streusel topping was mesmerizing to me, I stared at it long enough to see the craquelure happening, present-prog, and I felt at one with my dessert offering.
Sometimes the crack is a gaping chasm (cheesecakes are very susceptible to this condition), and then sometimes the tiny little fissures are hardly noticeable. This is craquelure.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter or 1 avocado oil baking stick (available in plant butter case), melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
half a jar of Peach or ___________ jam
1-2 thinly sliced peaches
Streusel Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter, or avo oil baking sticks, melted.
Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 350F
In a medium-sized bowl mix together the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
In separate bowl mix melted butter with the vanilla, almond extract, and brown sugar.
Combine the melted butter into the oatmeal flour mixture, until a thick sticky batter ensues.
Press the batter to cove the bottom of the baking pan. Place in oven for 10 minutes
Meanwhile make the streusel by combining melted butter/avo oil, flour and brown sugar, until a dark sandy textured paste occurs.
Remove pan and spoon jam evenly across the surface of the batter, place fruits slices to cover the jam. Sprinkle clumps of streusel evenly over the peaches. Return to oven.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the streusel is to you golden baked preference.
