Cherry Cake Bars

Cherry Cake Bars

This Cherry Cake Bars recipe is another take on an old fashioned cake bar recipe I shared last year for the Vintage Recipe project. I fell in love with this vintage cake recipe and have been experimenting with it ever since.

So far I have made Peach Pie Bars, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars,  and Peach Almond Jam Bars. The Peach Almond Jam Bars is the recipe that started it all. I loved the way they turned out so much that I decided to see how many different flavors of this old fashioned jam bars recipe I could come up with.

This Cherry Cake Bars recipe is the fourth. I believe I have a few more versions up my sleeve still to come.

I used a homemade Cherry Marmalade I made to fill these Cherry Cake Bars. If you don’t have any cherry marmalade on hand you can use cherry jam or cherry pie filling instead. Or make the Cherry Marmalade and then you can thank me later.

Don’t let the long list of instructions turn you off. There are 3 steps to make the three layers of these moist and delicious Cherry Cake Bars. The bottom layer is an almond crust. The filling is the cherry marmalade or pie filling or jam. If you want you can change the filling to another flavor. I bet Blueberry Cake Bars would taste wonderful.

There is a moist and fluffy cake layer that is topped off with sliced almonds and just a tiny bit of sugar that makes the top nice and crunchy. You can then drizzle a glaze over the top but you can skip the glaze if you want.

How to make Cherry Cake Bars

 Crust Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup butter softened
• ⅔ cups packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup almond meal or finely chopped almonds
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract

Cake Ingredients

• ¾ cherry marmalade, cherry jam or cherry pie filling
• ½ cup of butter softened
• ⅔ cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten well
• ⅔ cups of flour
• ¼ cup almond meal or finely chopped almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Topping Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Glaze Ingredients

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• ⅛ th teaspoon almond extract

Directions

Make the Crust/Bottom Layer

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add flour, chopped almonds and extract.
3. Mix well. Batter will be thick and crumbly
4. Prepare an 8×8 inch baking pan by covering the bottom and sides with 2 pieces of parchment paper cut to fit the width, leaving a slight over hanging over the edges.
5. Spread crust dough into the bottom of the pan then pat down and into the edges with your fingertips.
6. Bake crust as 350 F. for 10 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and immediately spread ¾ cup of cherry marmalade, cherry jam or cherry pie filling over the hot crust.
8. Set aside while preparing the next layer.
9. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Make the Cake batter

1. Cream butter and sugar together and beat on medium for 2 minutes.
2. Add eggs and extract then beat an additional 2 minutes.
3. Mix in the flour and almond meal, beating on low until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Drop cake batter by the tablespoon over the top of the peach jam.
5. Using the back of a spoon carefully spread the batter out to the edges of the pan.
6. Bake at 375 F. for 25-30 minutes or until top is a golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting.
8. Once cool cut into 9 or 16 squares.

Make the topping

1. Mix the sugar with almonds and sprinkle over the top.

Make the Glaze

1. Mix all the ingredients with a whisk until smooth.
2. Drizzle over top of cooled bars. Allow glaze to set before serving.
3. Makes 9-16 servings

Cherry Cake Bars

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• Author: Arlene Mobley - Flour On My Face
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Category: Old Fashioned Jam Bars

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Ingredients

• Crust Ingredients
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup butter softened
• ⅔ cups packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup almond meal or finely chopped almonds
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• Cake Ingredients
• ¾ cherry marmalade, cherry jam or cherry pie filling
• ½ cup of butter softened
• ⅔ cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten well
• ⅔ cups of flour
• ¼ cup almond meal or finely chopped almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• Topping Ingredients
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Glaze Ingredients
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• ⅛ th teaspoon almond extract

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Instructions

1. Make the Crust/Bottom Layer
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add flour, chopped almonds and extract.
4. Mix well. Batter will be thick and crumbly
5. Prepare an 8×8 inch baking pan by covering the bottom and sides with 2 pieces of parchment paper cut to fit the width, leaving a slight over hanging over the edges.
6. Spread crust dough into the bottom of the pan then pat down and into the edges with your fingertips.
7. Bake crust as 350 F. for 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and immediately spread ¾ cup of cherry marmalade, cherry jam or cherry pie filling over the hot crust.
9. Set aside while preparing the next layer.
10. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees.
11. Make the Cake batter
12. Cream butter and sugar together and beat on medium for 2 minutes.
13. Add eggs and extract then beat an additional 2 minutes.
14. Mix in the flour and almond meal, beating on low until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
15. Drop cake batter by the tablespoon over the top of the peach jam.
16. Using the back of a spoon carefully spread the batter out to the edges of the pan.
17. Bake at 375 F. for 25-30 minutes or until top is a golden brown.
18. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting.
19. Once cool cut into 9 or 16 squares.
20. Make the topping
21. Mix the sugar with almonds and sprinkle over the top.
22. Make the Glaze
23. Mix all the ingredients with a whisk until smooth.
24. Drizzle over top of cooled bars. Allow glaze to set before serving.
25. Makes 9-16 servings

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Other Recipes using the vintage old fashioned jam bars recipe.

• Peach Almond Jam Bars

• Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

• Peach Pie Bars