There are cakes that are true classics because they are quick to make and always taste good. One such cake is this red berry bars. You can quicklywhip up a delicious treat from simple ingredients that everyone will love and that will look absolutely gorgeous on the picnic blanket.
Red Berry Bars: A Summer Treat Better Than Apple Pie
Our red berry bars are a truly yummy treat, with love in every step. The flavor of this recipe is red berry compote. You can choose to make either make yourself or buy ready-made. You’ll also need to prepare a yeast dough, vanilla pudding, and streusel topping. No matter which route you take, the result will be a rich and creamy cake that is nonetheless perfectly light for those summer days and nights.
Red berry bars are a simple dessert with a long history, they trace their roots all the way back to Germany where they are still enjoyed today. It’s easy to see why these bars have remained a beloved dessert over there: Their brilliant mix of juicy red berry compote and a crispy yeast dough base is simply unbeatable. You can mix and swap the dough with a shortcrust pastry that tastes just as good.
While both are great choices, today we are baking the cake with yeast dough. Within a few hours, including rising and baking time, you’ll have a heavenly dessert on your hands. One of the things we love most about this dessert is how much it can be dressed up and dressed down. Given the upcoming Fourth of July weekend, we particularly love it on the picnic blanket. Though, we must admit, we’d be just as happy to see this bite-delight at brunch, cake sales, or even simply paired with weekday lunch.
One last suggestion? Garnish the bar with fruits like raspberries, blackberries, or cherries to add an especially fresh twist.
Who doesn’t love a good cake? We at Scrumdiddlyumptious have a large selection of delicious recipes for you, like our Sprite sheet pan cake, no-bake strawberry mousse cake, and our buttermilk sheet cake with berries.
Red Berry Bars
Ingredients
For the red berry compote:
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ⅔ cup cherry nectar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 cups frozen mixed berries
For the vanilla pudding:
- 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1¾ cups milk
For the yeast dough:
- 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ cup softened butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 pinch salt
For the streusel:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup butter
Additionally:
- ½ cup butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Start by making the red berry compote. Caramelize ½ cup sugar in a saucepan.
- Mix the cornstarch with 5 tablespoons of cherry nectar.
- Deglaze the caramel with ⅔ cup cherry nectar and lemon juice. Let it simmer, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil again. Add the berries, bring to a boil, and simmer for 3 minutes. Let the compote cool.
- Now onto the pudding. Mix the instant pudding powder with 3 tablespoons of sugar and 5 tablespoons of milk until smooth.
- Bring 1 ¾ cups milk to a boil in a saucepan, stir in the pudding mix, and let it simmer for 1 minute while stirring constantly. Remove the pudding from the heat and let it cool.
- Place the flour for the yeast dough in a bowl and make a well in the center.
- Warm the milk until lukewarm and dissolve the yeast and ⅓ cup sugar in it. Pour the yeast mixture into the well in the flour and let the pre-dough rise, covered, in a warm place for 15 minutes.
- After rising, add ½ cup softened butter, ⅓ cup sugar, eggs, and a pinch of salt to the pre-dough and knead well. Let the dough rise again, covered, for 1 hour.
- In the meantime, prepare the streusel. Knead 1 ½ cups flour, ⅓ cup sugar, and ⅓ cup butter together.
- Grease a deep baking sheet and roll out the yeast dough in it. Press ½ cup butter in pieces into the dough.
- Stir the pudding again and spread it in alternating dollops with the red berry compote on the dough. Finally, sprinkle the streusel over the cake.
- Bake the red berry bars for 30-40 minutes. Let them cool and cut into bars.