Strawberry Frangipane Shortbread Bars

I really really didn’t expect these to turn out as delicious as they did and I love it when a random idea actually works out so well! Fresh strawberries shine bright in these crisp shortbread bars with a layer of almond frangipane that sounds fancy but takes minutes to make and adds tons of flavour. They’re absolutely irresistible and while this is a small-batch recipe, I honestly think doubling it is the smarter thing to do!

I merged shortbread bars with the frangipane and uff, what a lovely combination! Frangipane is an almond cream made with butter, sugar, egg and of course ground almonds. It’s really easy and makes a wonderful base for the strawberries in these bars. The crisp shortbread adds tons of texture to the jammy berries and creamy frangipane and I hope I have you convinced!

They are of course delicious when freshly baked and still slightly warm but the flavours intensify after the bars are refrigerated and eating them cold from the fridge is a whole other experience. The base remains crisp, the frangipane thickens a little and becomes more fudgy and it’s all too perfect to handle.

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour (70 gms)
• 2 tbsps caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup butter cut into cubes, slightly softened but still cold (55 gms)

• 3 tbsps butter, at room temperature (45 gms)
• 1/4 cup caster sugar (50 gms)
• 1/2 cup finely ground almonds (40 gms) (from 1/3 cup whole almonds)
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 6 to 8 fresh strawberries, sliced