DARK CHOCOLATE & CHERRY CRUMBLE BARS

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups (300g) plain flour

• ⅓ cup (35g) Dutch cocoa, sifted

• ¾ cup (165g) caster sugar

• ½ cup (35g) shredded coconut

• ½ tsp salt flakes

• 200g unsalted butter, melted

• 100g dark chocolate, melted

CHERRY FILLING

• 2 x 415g cans stoneless black cherries in syrup

• 1 cup (220g) caster sugar

• 1 tbsp arrowroot

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 20cm x 30cm lamington pan and line with baking paper. Place flour, cocoa, sugar, coconut and ½ tsp salt flakes in a bowl and mix to combine.

Add the melted butter and chocolate, and stir to combine, reserving onethird of the mixture. Press the remaining mixture into the base of the prepared pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Bake for 15 minutes or until firm and dry to the touch.

2 Place the cherries, their syrup and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 20 minutes or until reduced with a jam-like consistency, then add the arrowroot and cook for a further 1 minute. Use a potato masher to roughly crush the cherries. Pour the mixture over the baked base and sprinkle over the remaining chocolate mixture. Bake for a further 20 minutes or until the top is firm.

3 Allow to cool in the pan completely before slicing to serve.