Healthy bakewell squares - vegan + paleo + sugar free

A little different from those Mr Kipling cherry bakewell delights my sister and I were biggg fans of growing up, but those moreish nostalgic flavours are all still there in this healthy bakewell tray bake.

A nutty almond base is topped with homemade cherry chia jam and sealed with a spiced almond layer on top. I wacked a few cinnamon oats (all I had at home) on mine mid way through the bake but ideally use almond flakes.

No need for hefty amounts of sweetener as those delish cherries are sweet enough. Using ground almonds as opposed to flour keeps this extra (eww gross word) moist for a few days as well as being gluten free friendly.

Allergy info: Gluten free, paleo, refined sugar free and dairy free.

RECIPE

The base: 2 cups ground almonds ¼ tsp baking powder 2 ½ tbsp coconut oil, melted 1 ½ tbsp honey 1 tsp cinnamon The jammy centre: 500g cherries/ frozen cherries (or other berries) 1 tbsp chia seeds 1 tsp vanilla essence ½ lemon, juices 1 tbsp protein powder/ coconut flour/ cornflour (any thickener of choice)

The top: 1 ½ cup ground almonds 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted 3 eggs (or chia eggs if vegan) 2 tbsp almonds

METHOD:

First up get making that cherry jam! Add everything except the protein powder or flour into a saucepan.

Bring the mixture to a simmer and leave bubbling away for approx 20 mins.

Meanwhile, whizz up that base…

Preheat the oven to 170C and grease the bottom and sides of the cake pan you’re using with a little coconut oil.

Stir all the ingredients together in a large bowl or alternatively place in a blender and pulse to combine into a crumble mixture.

Spread the base mixture into the bottom of the cake pan and press down firmly to smooth it out. Set aside.

Back to that jam. Remove from the heat after 20 minutes or when it looks like a fruit syrup and stir in the protein powder. Set aside while you make the top.

Mix the wet ingredients in a bowl and the dry ingredients in another bowl (or in a blender). Add the wet to the dry and stir until evenly combined.

Pour the jam onto the almond base and spread evenly. Then pour the final layer over the top followed by a sprinkling of flakes almonds.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden.

Once cooked, leave to cool  before slicing. Serve it up solo, with coconut yoghurt or vegan custard! YUM