Tag: picnic food

Hi lovelies, thank you so much for stopping by and taking a look at what I’ve been cooking up lately. While the sun is still shining and the sky a most glorious blue colour, my mind is once again on portable food. Picnics, packed lunches, outdoor parties, or even just something to have mid morning with a cup of coffee in the garden. May I present these Double Cherry Drizzle Oat Bars!

A crunchy oat biscuit provides the base for these delicious bars. Topped with cherry jam and then a thick layer of light, vanilla sponge studded throughout with glacé cherries. The Double Cherry Drizzle Oat Bars are then finished with a drizzle of cherry icing and a sprinkle of edible glitter!

Incredibly tasty, these bars also hold together really well, very important when being packed up for lunch or a picnic.

Feel free to sit in the sun with a cup of coffee and one of these Double Cherry Drizzle Oat Bars and simply stare at how beautiful and sparkly they are.

I would!

I did!!

For an afternoon tea, you could easily cut these into 24 smaller, bite sized delights, in fact, if you decide to do that, it may well be worth icing them after they have been cut. That way you can loop the icing around each individual square, making them look even more elegant.

No matter whether you make these as beautiful bars or simple, elegant squares, there is one thing guarenteed and that is they taste amazing.

A perfect combination of pretty and pretty yummy!

Recipe: Makes 16 Double Cherry Drizzle Oat Bars

For the biscuit base:

225g/8oz Caster Sugar

125g/5oz Unsalted Butter – softened to room temperature – plus a little extra for greasing the tin

Tiny pinch of salt – 1/8 tsp – I use Maldon

50g/2oz Rolled Oats – not quick cook – I used Waitrose Essential Porridge Oats

225g/8oz Plain White Flour

1/2 Jar/4tbsp Cherry Jam – I used morello cherry

For the sponge top:

175g/6oz Unsalted Butter – softened to room temperature

175g/6oz Caster Sugar

3 Large Free Range Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Extract – I use Nielsen-Massey

Scant pinch of salt – see biscuit base

175g/6oz Plain Flour

Level 1.5tsp Baking Powder

175g/6oz Glacé Cherries

For the drizzle icing:

100g/4oz Icing Sugar

3tsp Black Cherry Syrup – I use Monin Syrup

if you do not have the syrup simple make up the icing adding a little extra water in lieu of the syrup – a tiny dot of pink food colour gel added will create a similar colour

1/4tsp Almond Extract – I use Nielsen Massey

Optional – edible glitter – I used holographic silver

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan, gas mark 5, 375F

Making And Baking The Oat Biscuit Base

• Lightly grease and line with baking parchment a 28cm x 20cm x 5cm (12″ x 8″ x 2″) swiss roll tin.
• In a large bowl add the butter and sugar and whisk/beat until pale and creamy.
• Add the oats, flour and salt and mix gently until the dough just comes together.
• Tip the biscuit dough into the prepared pan and press into a single, even layer with your fingers.
• Place the tin in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the dough to rest.
• After the dough has chilled place the tin into the centre of the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• The biscuit base will be a lovely golden colour. Once the cooking time has elapsed remove the tin from the oven.

• While the biscuit base is hot spoon over the cherry jam so that it covers the base but does not spread right to the edges.

Reduce the oven temperature to 160C/140C fan, gas mark 3, 325FMAKING.

Making And Baking The Cherry Sponge

• In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
• Add all 3 eggs and the vanilla extract. Whisk/beat until combined.
• Reseve 1 tablespoon of the flour and sift the rest of the flour, salt and baking powder into the bowl.
• Mix until the ingredients are just combined.
• In a separate bowl toss the cherries in the reserved flour, this will prevent them sinking to the bottom of the cake whilst baking – although the cake layer in this Double Cherry Drizzle Oat Bars is not very deep, it is a good tip to remember.
• Add the flour dusted glacé cherries to the cake batter and mix gently so that they are evenly dispersed.
• Using a spoon, evenly dollop the cake batter over the biscuit/jam base.
• Spread out the cake batter until it almost reaches the edges – I used the back of a metal spoon. The cake will spread to fill the pan whilst baking.

• Place the tin into the centre of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
• The cake layer is baked with it is a golden colour and springs back from a light touch.
• When baked remove the tin from the oven.

• Allow the Double Cherry Drizzle Oat Bars to cool completely in the tin.
• When cooled invert onto a baking rack and carefully remove the baking parchment.
• Place another cooling rack on top of the tray bake and flip over again, your bake should now be cake side up.

Making The Cherry Drizzle

• Sift the icing sugar into a medium sized bowl.
• Add the cherry syrup and stir.
• Next add 3 teaspoons of cool tap water and the almond extract.
• Stir to combine. You will have a thick, icing that will just hold it’s shape when piped.
• Fill a small disposable piping bag with the pink, cherry icing.
• Snip the very end of, leaving a small hole.
• Pipe swirls and squiggles all over the top of the tray bake. Alternatively, use a teaspoon to lightly drizzle the icing over.
• Dust with a sprinkle of your favourite edible glitter, if desired.

• Allow the drizzle to completely set before slicing.
• Transfer the Double Cherry Drizzle Oat Bar slab onto a flat surface. I use a glass kitchen saver, don’t use your best knife for cutting as the glass will blunt it!
• First of all, cut down the centre length of the bake. Cut across the middle of the width to create 4 quarters. Finally, cut each quarter into 4 bars

Take lots of photos of these utterly dazzling Double Cherry Drizzle Oat Bars just because they are so pretty! Also don’t forget to pop a picture on Twitter/Instagram, tag me in and I will retweet, or give you a shout out.

Portable Food

I know in previous posts that I’ve mentioned not taking ‘anything’ iced on picnics, however, these bars are so completely delicious I’m going to make an exception. The nutty flavoured oat base and hint of almond extract in the cherry drizzle work together in complete harmony with the cherry studded sponge creating a perfectly flavour balanced bar. They stop the Double Cherry Drizzle Oat Bars from being too sweet.

Ok so the smart ones among you (that’s everyone, just to be clear), may have notice that these ‘double’ cherry are in fact triple cherry drizzle oat bars. I’d already written most of this post, edited and labelled photos, so I thought I’d throw in the extra one for free 😉

If you have enjoyed these Double Cherry Drizzle Oat Bars, here are some other recipes you may like too:

Macadamia Apricot Flapjacks

Bakewell Shortbread Bars

Sticky Pecan Sultana Buns

Eating outside, whether on a picnic, at a barbecue or even in the garden, is such a great way of getting together with friends old and new. There is something so informal and relaxing being in the great outdoors. I can see why so many people choose to get married outside, as it’s a great way of mingling a diverse combination of guests in a relatively informal environment.

We are planning a fab get together with our friends and neighbours over the coming weeks, so watch out for fun, feasting and barbecue recipes coming up.

Are you planning on any outdoor get together’s?

Do you enjoy the great outdoors  – even if it’s only your back garden?

Sammie xx

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