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

• 200g unsalted butter, melted

• 100g dark chocolate, melted

• ½ tsp salt flakes

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 one-third 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.