apricot cheesecake crumble bars

apricot cheesecake crumble bars

15 Sept 2025

I love making jam and marmalade but I don't eat much of either. I usually give away the pots of jam or use them in my baking and the remaining jars of jam I store under the bed or in my sunroom. I think I have 2 unopened jars of fig jam, 2 unopened jars of apricot jam, 2 unopened jars of blood orange marmalade, 4 unopened jars of plum conserve and any number of half consumed pots of jam lurking in the fridge. 

Consequently I'm always on the lookout for recipes using jam and that's how I came across this recipe by Sarah Kieffer. I made an apricot version of her creamy jammy coffee cake and added oats to the streusal. The topping and filling were delicious but I wasn't sold on the base layer. I cast my mind back to the raspberry cheesecake crumble bars I made a few years ago and decided the apricot cream cheese coffee cake would work better served as bars with a shortbread base. Off to the kitchen I went and came up with this variation.

Here's the recipe for you which makes an 8 inch cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20-ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Apricot cheesecake crumble bars
Base
175g unsalted butter
⅓ cup (75g) caster sugar
1½ cup (225g) plain flour, sifted
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Crumble
3 tbsp (25g) rolled oats

3 tsp demerara or raw sugar

Filling
2/3 cup apricot jam

1 tbs lemon juice
250g room temperature cream cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon yoghurt or cream

Method
Grease and line an 8 inch square tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 190°C, conventional.

In a food processor, process all the ingredients for the base until a soft dough forms around the blades. Take out 1/3 of the dough (160g) and place in a small bowl. Add the oats and demerara sugar to the dough and place in the fridge. This will form the crumble topping. Take the remaining ⅔ of the dough and press the mixture into the base of the prepared tin. Place the tin in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the base is golden. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

  
Filling

Gently warm the jam in a pan until loose, then remove from the heat. Stir through the lemon juice and then set to one side while you make the cheesecake filling. 

Wipe out the food processor then combine the remaining filling ingredients in the food processor and whiz until smooth then pour over the prepared base. Dot the jam over the cheesecake, then strew over the crumble mix.

Return to the oven and bake the cake for 45 minutes or until the filling is just set and the crumble golden. Allow to cool before storing in the fridge to firm up. 

Cut into squares or bars with a damp knife before serving. The bars will keep for 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. They will start to soften after 2 days but are still delicious. These are best served at room temperature. 

These apricot cheesecake crumble bars with their crisp shortbread base, filled with a creamy cheesecake filling brightened with a pop of apricot jam then topped with oaty crumbs were a treat. If I were to make any changes, perhaps I'd add a teaspoon or 2 of lemon rind to the cheesecake layer just to add a bit more of a citrus zing.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese brownies

chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese brownies

8 Sept 2025

We've had a very wet winter here in Sydney, so one rainy Sunday I decided to do a spot of baking. I picked up my copy of Beatrix Bakes Another Slice and browsed through the book. I was intrigued by the brownie recipe which used ingredients with which I was familiar but the technique used was wildly different.

The brownies are made from pantry staples and cream cheese, all of which I had in the kitchen, so I decided to make a small batch. Just as I was about to put the brownies in the oven, I topped them with some frozen raspberries to make the fruity 'adaptrix', a Natalie'ism.

Here's the recipe for you (in Natalie's own words) adapted from here, which makes a 17-cm square tin of brownies. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20-ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C. If you'd like to make a larger batch please refer to the original recipe.

Chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese brownies - makes 12 bite-size brownies

Ingredients
Cooking oil spray 
100g egg (2 eggs) 
150g raw caster sugar 
55g good bittersweet chocolate (around 50-60% cocoa)
120g unsalted butter 
45g plain flour, regular or gluten free
30g Dutch (unsweetened) cocoa powder 
heaped ¼ tsp sea salt flakes
90g good extra-dark chocolate (around 70% cocoa)
55g full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
50g frozen raspberries

Method
Heat the oven to 170°C, conventional. Lightly spray a 17-cm square, 5 cm deep cake tin with cooking oil and line the base and sides with baking paper. Ensure any flappy paper edges are trimmed flush with the tin or secure them with clips.

Combine the egg and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment beat on speed 4 (below medium) for 8 minutes until you have a thick and pale foam.

While the mix beats, weigh the bittersweet chocolate into a small heatproof bowl. Heat the butter to bubbly hot (stovetop or microwave) and pour it over. Stir until the chocolate has melted and is smooth.

 
Scrape the warm chocolate/butter mix into the egg mix and beat for 5 minutes on speed 5 (medium) - it will look like a fluffy and flowy chocolate mousse. While it mixes weigh the flour and cocoa together and sift into a small bowl. Weigh the salt flakes on top. Chop the extra-dark chocolate into fine shards and add 65g to a separate bowl. Tear up the cream cheese into small hazelnut-sized chunks to sit on top of the chocolate. Set aside.

Stop the mixer and tip in the sieved dry ingredients. Beat on speed 2 (above low) for 1 minute until the flour is absorbed. Take the bowl off the mixer and stir in the chocolate and cream cheese. Some cream cheese lumps will remain and some will smear through, lightening the batter slightly all of this is good. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Press the frozen raspberries (fresh ones will scorch) into the top after smoothing the batter and then scatter the remaining extra-dark chocolate on top.

If you find a few too large nuggets of cream cheese when scraping and smoothing, massage them into the ideal size with the tip of your offset spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine took 40-45 minutes at 170°C, conventional) until the top of the brownie is slightly puffed, has a noticeable cracked border about 2 cm from the edge and fine fissures further across the surface. My Perfect Squidge Temperature (PST) hits at 95°C (205°F), with sticky clumps of mottled paste (not liquid chocolate).

Bake for 5 - 10 minutes longer if you want a more cakey brownie (internal temperature 100°C/210°F). If you want super-gooey filling, cook it for 5-10 minutes less, but you will definitely have to chill before cutting. Internal temperature taking is genius for brownies - no matter the batter, recipe or oven, you can always get the squidge right.

Cool at room temperature for around 30 minutes before cutting with a hot, damp knife, or chill it for a creamy fudge texture. The first warm bar, with still-molten chocolate chunks, is one of the greatest kitchen gifts bestowed upon a home baker. The brownies can be kept covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Allow the brownies to soften to room temperature or zap to re-soften before eating.

Adaptrix

It's a bit nutty
Add 60g roughly chopped (to about the size of your pinky fingertip) lightly toasted nuts, keeping a smattering to sprinkle on top. Pecans and walnuts are faves for the mellifluous texture. Avoid almonds, as they are too jarring against the soft brownie texture. Hazelnuts get a hall pass if chopped to a medium coarseness (half pinky fingertip). Heads up, they are very, very good with the Mocha Adaptrix.

Mocha
Coffee, more than salt or vanilla, will elevate the chocolate flavour - I add this for adults. Add 3g of instant coffee powder to dissolve with the hot butter.

The big chill
Score maximum brownie points and make the batter, then delay the bake. After smoothing the batter into the tin, chill overnight, uncovered is fine. Bake as above - just increase the time by 10+ minutes to allow for the cold start. Some baking boffins swear this melds the ingredients to make a better brownie. I just like that I can mix, rest and bake for easy warm brownie joy.

As promised, these brownies were very rich and squidgy, so I cut them into 12 small pieces. I shared the brownies with my neighbours and they were big fans.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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blood orange, almond and polenta cake with orange scented ganache

blood orange, almond and polenta cake with orange scented ganache

31 Aug 2025

My love for blood oranges knows no bounds. I've been enchanted by blood oranges since I was first introduced to them when I was 15. I was on a school trip to Europe and by the time we'd arrived in Italy I was craving both orange juice and steak. The steak could wait until I returned home but not the orange juice. Not even the ridiculously high price could stop me from ordering the juice and when it arrived it was blood red. We thought they'd made a mistake and had given us tomato juice, but one sip revealed there had been no mistake and we'd been served the best orange juice of all, blood orange juice.

I found a recipe for a blood orange cake in 'Love Crumbs' by Nadine Ingram, which she'd named 'A Waltzing Orange Cake'. I waited for blood oranges to return to the fruit shop and a few weeks back, there they were in all their glory. I bought a bag of blood oranges and set to work making both the cake and a batch of blood orange and vanilla marmalade. 

Whilst I loved the cake toppings, I found the cake quite dry. I've made many blood orange cakes in the past and thought one of those cakes might work better as a base for those lovely toppings. I returned to the kitchen for round 2 and came up with this recipe for a blood orange, almond amd polenta cake with an orange scented ganache. The cake, which is both gluten free and dairy free, was adapted from a Nicola Lamb recipe whilst the toppings (and instructions) are pure Nadine.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17-cm cake. For all my recipes, I use a 250 ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon. All eggs are 60 grams and my oven is a conventional oven not fan forced, so you may need to reduce your oven temperature by 20°C. To make this cake you'll need 4-5 blood oranges, depending on their size, and 1 lemon. If blood oranges aren't in season, regular oranges will do nicely.

Blood orange, almond and polenta cake with an orange scented ganache - makes a 17-cm cake

Blood orange jelly slices -start this process 2 days ahead

1 blood orange

80g caster sugar

90ml water

¼ tsp cardamom pods, crushed

½ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

  

Orange scented ganache

200g pure cream

½ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

½ tsp cardamom pods, crushed

1 blood orange, zested

55g white chocolate good quality, finely chopped

Cake

The zest of 2 blood oranges

The blended flesh of 1-2 blood oranges to make 135g of puree

125g caster sugar

2 eggs

½ cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil

125g almond meal

50g superfine polenta flour, sifted with 1 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt

Citrus syrup

¼ cup (55g) caster sugar

1 tbs water

¼ cup (60 mls) freshly squeezed blood orange juice

Juice of ½ lemon

pinch salt

Blood orange jelly slices – start these 2 days before serving the cake.

Slice the oranges into 2 mm-thick rounds using a very sharp knife. Take your time as you want every slice to be completely round without tears. Place the slices in a large bowl and pour over boiling water from the kettle to well cover the slices, then wrap the bowl in plastic film for 6 hours until cold. Repeat the process twice more to make a total of three blanches over an 18-hour period. Don't worry, they can sit for longer if you need to leave them overnight. This is a technique used to soften citrus and remove the bitterness, while maintaining the vibrant colours. It's normally done by bringing the fruit to the boil in a saucepan, however, in the case of delicate orange slices they would be broken up in the process.

Place the sugar, water, cardamom and vanilla bean and seeds in a large, wide saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Discard the blanching water from the oranges and gently add the orange slices to the cardamom syrup, laying them carefully over the base of the saucepan, then cover them with a round piece of baking paper to ensure the top of the slices don't dry out.

Continue to simmer the orange slices on the lowest heat possible for about 1 hour -1 hour 30 minutes or until the syrup reduces to a jelly and coats the oranges in a glossy, translucent glaze. Turn off the heat and let them cool at room temperature. After this they can be stored in the fridge stacked up in a jar with any remaining syrup poured over them for approximately 3 months.

Orange-scented ganache

Place the cream, vanilla, cardamom pods and the orange zest in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and allow the flavours to mingle for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place the finely chopped chocolate into a medium bowl and set it beside the stove. Strain the aromatics out of the cream and return the cream to the boil, then pour it over chocolate and stir the ganache until it is smooth and all the chocolate has dissolved. Pour the ganache into a container with a lid and cool in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.

Cake

Preheat oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease a 17cm-round cake pan and line the tin with baking paper.

Place the grated rind and sugar into a bowl and massage together until the sugar becomes fragrant. Add the eggs and whisk to combine, followed by the oil. Whisk in almond meal and the polenta flour mixture alternating with the blended orange pulp to form a loose batter. Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 55-65 minutes until the top is just firm and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan for 1 hour, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Syrup

Combine sugar with the water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer, add the orange juice and cook for 4-6 minutes until thickened and starting to caramelise. Cool syrup, then mix in the juice of ½ lemon and a pinch of salt and stir until combined. Cool completely to room temperature.

To assemble

Remove the cake from the tin by inverting it onto a plate, removing the baking paper and then flipping it back the right way up onto a platter.

Remove the orange-scented ganache from the fridge and give it a good whisk to incorporate any white chocolate that may have settled to the bottom or fat from the cream that may have floated to the top. Whip the ganache in the bowl of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment or use a hand whisk to whisk until firmly whipped, then spread or dollop evenly over the top of the cake. 

Arrange the blood orange jelly slices on top, noting that they're difficult to slice through when cutting the cake, so a bit of strategic placement based on the number of guests will make portioning much easier or you can place an orange slice on each plate then cut the cake afterward and drizzle with the syrup to serve. 

I took this to a friends place and we served the cake for dessert and it was a triumph! If you don't feel like making the ganache or the blood orange jelly slices, this cake topped with whipped cream and drizzled with some orange syrup is still a delight.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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double pecan apple crumble cake

double pecan apple crumble cake

24 Aug 2025

If you go back through the archives, you'll see I've made this cake before, way back in 2009. I didn't type up the recipes back then. As well as a full time job, my weekends were spent photographing weddings and there just weren't enough hours in the day. 

I copied the original recipe from a magazine so when one of my readers asked for the recipe, I searched through 2 dusty boxes of recipes. Some of the recipes I'd pulled from magazines whilst others were handwritten on scraps of paper, the things we did pre-mobile phones. Despite my best efforts, the recipe which should have been in one of the boxes, was nowhere to be found.

This was how I described the cake in 2009. 'The Pecan Apple Crumble Cake is a simple butter cake with grated apple folded through it with a surprise crumble layer in the middle consisting of brown sugar, chopped pecans and cinnamon'. From that description alone, I figured I could recreate a version of the cake. The base I adapted from here whilst the pecan crumble topping I winged.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17-cm cake. For all my recipes, I use a 250 ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon. All eggs are 60 grams and my oven is a conventional oven not fan forced, so you may need to reduce your oven temperature by 20°C. 

Double pecan and apple crumble cake - makes a 17-cm cake

Pecan crumble
100g brown sugar
75g chopped toasted pecans
1 tbs plain flour
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
30g unsalted butter, melted
  
Cake
1 Granny Smith apple, (mine was 200g) peeled, cored and coarsely grated
1 lemon zested
110g unsalted butter
110g caster sugar 
2 eggs
75g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
50g almond meal

Pecan crumble
In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, chopped nuts, flour and cinnamon. Using a fork, stir in butter until crumbly; set aside.

Cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease and line a 17cm round tin with baking paper. 

Beat the butter, sugar and rind together until light and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time and beat together. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl and then add the almond meal. Stir to combine. Add to the mixture in two or three lots alternating with the grated apple.

Spoon half the cake mixture into the prepared pan; level and then spoon over half the pecan crumble. Top with the remaining cake batter before smoothing the surface. Scatter the remaining pecan crumble on top of the cake and bake on the centre rack for 50-60 minutes at 180°C, conventional or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out moist but relatively clean. If the crumble browns too quickly, then cover with a piece of foil halfway through whilst it finishes cooking through.

Cool in the pan for 5 mins before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I'm really glad I made this cake because it's absolutely delicious and after tasting the cake, my neighbours sent wildly enthusiastic messages. The cake is definitely a pecan cake though; the apple makes the cake nice and tender but it's not a major player flavour wise. The pecan crumble however is fire and if the cake is stored in an airtight container the topping will stay crunchy for 2 days, thereafter it will soften.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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Sticky prune teacakes or puddings

Sticky prune teacakes or puddings

17 Aug 2025

Even though the biscuit tin was empty, I decided I wanted to eat cake rather than a cookie. During my search, this recipe for sticky prune cakes by Edd Kimber's from his book Small Batch Bakes, popped up and with all the ingredients in my pantry I decided to make a batch.

The recipe is a riff on a sticky toffee pudding so if you don't have any prunes in the house, I'm sure you could use dates or even dried figs. 

As it's winter here and I was in the mood for a warm dessert, I heated up the sticky prune teacakes and served them as a pudding with stewed apple and butterscotch sauce and they were delicious!

Here's the recipe for you which makes 6 small cakes or puddings. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20-ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Sticky prune teacakes

Ingredients
40g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
115g ready-to-eat prunes, halved
150ml brewed black tea (I like earl grey)
75g light brown sugar
1 tbsp black treacle
1 large egg
75g rye flour
25g plain flour
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarb soda
Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Butterscotch Sauce - if making puddings

Ingredients

45g unsalted butter

¾  cup brown sugar

¾ cup cream

1 tbs pure maple syrup

pinch sea salt flakes

Method
Heat the oven to 180°C, conventional, and lightly grease a six-hole muffin tray.

Put the prunes into a small saucepan, pour in the hot tea and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until almost all the liquid has been absorbed by the fruit.

Meanwhile, put the butter, sugar and treacle in a bowl and beat for about five minutes, until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg until fully combined. In another bowl, whisk the flours, salt and baking powder, then add to the butter mixture and mix briefly just to combine.

Take the pan of prunes off the heat, add the bicarb and stir just until it starts to foam. Set the mixture aside to cool for 5 minutes, then add to the batter and mix briefly until combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tray, sprinkle liberally with demerara sugar, then bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cakes spring back to a light touch. Remove and leave to cool for five minutes, then carefully turn out and put on a wire rack to cool completely. The cakes will keep in a sealed container for at least four days.

If you like, you can serve these warm as a pudding with stewed fruit and butterscotch sauce.

Butterscotch Sauce

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, stir, then bring to a simmer. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, until thickened, then remove from heat. Serve warm.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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salted peanut tart

salted peanut tart

10 Aug 2025

I've had this salted peanut tart recipe bookmarked for ages but with so many other recipes that needed my attention, it fell by the wayside.

Whilst doing my research I discovered that peanut pie is a traditional recipe from the south made just like pecan pie but with peanuts instead of pecans. Instead of corn syrup, Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen made her filling with golden syrup or honey with a touch of apple cider vinegar and I found a Martha Stewart recipe which did the same. There is always golden syrup in my kitchen, so after I bought a packet of salted peanuts, the time had come to finally make this salted peanut tart. 

I made the pastry and lined the tin and had every intention of parbaking the crust, but when the time came, I couldn't be bothered. When I make pecan pie I don't parbake the crust because the pie is in the oven for 45-60 minutes on a preheated oven tray, which gives the pastry plenty of time to cook. However, this salted peanut tart is only in the oven for 30 minutes, so although the edges looked nice and golden, the pastry was still a little blonde on the base. Next time I'd start the bake on a lower rack to give the base a bit more heat and then I'd move it to the centre rack to set the filling.

You might notice a little bit of a volcanic eruption happened to the tart. There was a plumber in the building and I had to leave the tart mid bake to talk taps, so I wasn't able to keep a close eye on the tart, and when I did the filling had erupted. If you'd like to avoid this happening, keep an eye on the tart during the final 5-10 minutes of the bake.

Here's the recipe for you adapted from here, which makes a 33cm rectangular tart. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20-ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.  If you'd like to make a 23-cm tart, just follow the link to the original recipe for the quantities. 

Salted peanut tart
Pastry
1 cup plain flour
60 grams cold unsalted butter
Pinch sea salt flakes
2-3 tbs water

Pastry
Combine the butter, flour and salt in a food processor. Gradually add sufficient water until a dough forms around the blade. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 4-mm thickness then line a lightly greased 33 x 11 cm rectangular tin with the pastry. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before trimming the edges just before filling and baking. 

Filling
245g salted roasted peanuts 
55g unsalted butter
110g sugar (I used an even mix of brown and caster sugar)
95g golden syrup or honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)

1 tsp grated lemon rind (optional)

To serve
Sour cream or creme fraiche
Sea salt flakes
Icing sugar

Method
Place a tray onto the lower rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 200°C, conventional. 

Remove a 1/3 of the peanuts and set aside, then coarsely chop the remaining peanuts. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat until it starts to bubble. Continue cooking while whisking until it is golden brown. Immediately transfer to a bowl and leave to cool.

When cooled add the sugars, the golden syrup, the eggs, vanilla and vinegar (if using) to the bowl and whisk well. Finally stir in the chopped peanuts.

Pour the filling into the tart shell then top with the whole peanuts. Carefully place the filled tart onto the preheated tray; reduce the oven temperature to 180⁰C, conventional, and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes move the tart, still on the tray, to the centre rack and cook for another 15 minutes or until the outside of the tart is set but the centre has a slight wobble. Allow the tart to cool completely before serving. 

If desired, you can dredge the tart with icing sugar just before serving. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche and a few sea salt flakes. 

If you have a peanut allergy, chopped toasted macadamia nuts would be a delicious alternative. 

This is a very tasty tart and it's not overly sweet. In fact I'd be inclined to  increase the sugar a little. Best of all, the pastry shell was nice and crispy even though it hadn't been parbaked and received special mention from my neighbour!

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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