Blackberry Crumble Bar

Wild blackberries are ripening everywhere. It almost become a family tradition to go blackberry picking on a weekend in mid-to-late August. Prickly branches are disregarded for the luscious berries, a little scratch here and there is ignored. The sour-sweet berries are eaten as they are picked. Unanimous vote on what the leftover berries are turned into... can't hardly wait to dig in!

Ingredients:
24-36 oz. blackberries, freshly picked or store bought

2 tsp. cornstarch
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. water

For crumble:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup almond flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup clarified butter (or ghee)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg. Grease a flat bottomed glass baking dish with a bit of softened butter or ghee.

Add the crumble ingredients in sequence into a large mixing bowl and mix well with a spatula.

Wash and clean the berries, drain the water and turn into a bowl. Whisk cornstarch, lemon juice, sugar and water in small bowl and pour over the blackberries.

Take half the crumble mixture and press evenly into the baking dish. Spread all blackberries evenly on top of this crumble layer. Cover the blackberries with the remaining mixture and press lightly.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 40-45 minutes. Serve warm.

Its a great breakfast if you are always on the go, but like the quintessential gulab jamun, this bar pairs up well with vanilla ice-cream for dessert.