Vegan Apple Crumble Custard Bars
Delicious, autumnal vegan apple crumble custard bars. Crisp, biscuity base with sauteed apples, vanilla custard and a buttery crumble topping. They're bonkers delicious!
Servings: 12
Calories: 445kcal
Ingredients
For the Base and Crumble Topping
- 280 g plain white flour
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 225 g vegan butter (refrigerated - the kind in a block, not margarine)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
For the Sauteed Apples
- 500 g baking apples (peeled and diced)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 25 g vegan butter
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 25 g light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
For the Vanilla Custard Layer
- 500 ml oat milk
- 1.5 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or the seeds from one vanilla pod)
- 110 g caster sugar (aka superfine sugar in the US)
- 500 ml full fat coconut milk
- 90 g corn flour (aka cornstarch in the US)
- pinch turmeric powder
Instructions
To Make the Base and Crumble Topping
- Preheat the oven to 170c. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Also, line a deep 25x30cm baking tin with baking parchment. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, place the base/crumble ingredients. Use a pastry cutter or two sharp knives to cut together the ingredients until you have a rough sandy texture.
- Place two thirds of the mixture into the deep baking tin. Using a flat object such as a spatula or dough scraper, flatten the mixture into one even layer.
- Place the remaining third of the mixture onto the lined baking tray and spread it out roughly. Place both baking trays in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove both trays from the oven and allow to cool fully. Meanwhile make the sauteed apples.
To Make the Sauteed Apples
- Place the peeled, cubed apples into a large frying pan and place over medium heat. Add a few tablespoon of water and cover with a lid. Allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes or until the apples are starting to soften.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Allow to cook for a further few minutes but do not allow the apples to lose their shape.
- Remove the pan from the heat and spread the sauteed apples onto a plate and allow them to cool. Once cooled, chill the apples in the fridge until the base is ready.
To Make the Custard Layer
- Place the oat milk, vanilla bean paste and caster sugar in a medium saucepan. Place over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Do not allow the oat milk to boil.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut milk, corn flour and turmeric. Whisk well.
- Pour the coconut milk mixture into the saucepan of oat milk mixture and whisk well immediately. With the saucepan still over low heat, keep whisking until the custard becomes very thick. If the custard is not thickening after around 8-10 minutes, turn the heat up slightly and persevere!
- Once the custard is thick, remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool for few minutes.
To Assemble the Bars
- Spread the cooled, sauteed apples evenly across the base in the 25x30cm baking tin. Carefully pour the custard mixture over the apples and spread to create a flat surface with a spatula or pallet knife. Finally, crumble the topping over the custard layer.
- Allow to cool down to room temperature before chilling in the fridge for at least 3 hours. If you remove before this, you risk the bars not setting.
- Once fully chilled and set, remove the bars from the fridge. Carefully slice into 12 slices and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 445kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 165mg | Potassium: 198mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 905IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 3mg