Blackberry and Mascarpone Crumble Bars

This recipe came to me as I was picking an abundance of blackberries. It is tart but creamy, especially with vanilla ice cream.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 55 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins
• Calories: 325 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 (8 ounce) container mascarpone cheese
• 4 cups fresh blackberries
• 1 cup almond meal
• ¼ cup white sugar, or more to taste
• 1 medium lemon, zested and juiced, divided
• 1 teaspoon orange liqueur
• 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Step 2

Mix flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt for dough together in a bowl. Cut in butter until it is pea-sized. Mix in egg and vanilla extract until dough is crumbly.

Step 3

Pat 1/2 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, saving the remaining dough for the topping.

Step 4

Bake in the preheated oven until edges just start to turn brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Leave the oven on.

Step 5

Beat mascarpone cheese, sugar, 1/2 of the lemon zest, and 1/2 of the lemon juice together in a bowl for mascarpone filling.

Step 6

Combine blackberries, sugar, remaining lemon zest, remaining lemon juice, cornstarch, orange liqueur, and salt for blackberry filling in another bowl.

Step 7

Spread mascarpone filling across the cooled bottom crust. Spread blackberry filling over mascarpone filling, then sprinkle reserved dough in crumbles evenly over top.

Step 8

Bake in the preheated oven until filling is bubbling and top crust is lightly browned, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. For best results, refrigerate for 8 hours to overnight before cutting into 16 bars.