Strawberry Crumble Bars

  These crumble bars are made of vanilla cake covered in strawberries with a double crumb topping and vanilla glaze.Absolutely scrumptious!

For the crumb topping:
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour


For the Strawberry Topping:
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoons sugar

For the Cake:
2 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose flour, sifted (measure first then sift)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 + 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg
2/3 cup buttermilk (or milk + 1/2 Tbsp vinegar, stir and let sit 5 min)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving

For the Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 - 2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment.

Make the topping:
In a medium bowl mix together all the topping ingredients with a fork until well-combined.
Cover with plastic wrap and set in freezer.

Make the strawberry topping:
Add the strawberries to a medium bowl and toss with lemon juice and sugar. Set aside.

Make the Cake:
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer beat sugar and butter together on medium speed 2 minutes.
Beat in egg.
On low speed beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture then 1/2 the buttermilk.
Repeat again ending with the flour.
Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Beat in the vanilla.
Spread the dough out in the bottom of the pan.
Pour the strawberries and juice on top and spread out evenly.
Using your hands crumble the topping over the strawberries.
Bake until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean 30 - 35 minutes.

Make the Glaze:
Whisk the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth and creamy, adding more milk or confectioners' to get the right consistency.
Drizzle over top of the cake.
Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or ice cream.