Berry bars

MAKES 16 PREPARATION: 10 MIN COOKING: 45 MIN

750ml (3c) flour

375ml (1½c) sugar

5ml (1t) baking powder 5ml (1t) cinnamon pinch of salt zest and juice of 1 lemon 200g butter

1egg

10ml (2t) vanilla essence 15ml (1T) cornflour

350g fresh strawberries, halved

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 22 x 33cm rectangular pan.

1 In a blender, pulse together the flour, 250ml (1c) of the sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and lemon zest. Add the butter, egg and vanilla essence, pulsing until the dough is crumbly.

2 Pat half the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, saving the remainder for the topping.

3 In a medium-sized bowl, mix the remaining sugar, cornflour and lemon juice. Gently add the strawberries.

4 Sprinkle the strawberry mixture evenly over the dough in the pan. Crumble or grate the remaining dough over the strawberry layer.

5 Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is light brown. Leave to cool completely before cutting into bars and storing in an airtight container.