Festive Fruit And Nut Slice (bars)

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups glace cherries (300 grams)
• 2 cups natural almonds (260g)
• 1 cup sultana (150g)
• 1 sheet frozen shortcrust pastry or 1 sheet frozen gluten-free shortcrust pastry
• 100 g butter
• 1/3 cup maple syrup or 1/3 cup golden syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 2 tablespoons plain flour or 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour
• 80 g dark chocolate, to decorate (optional)

Recipe

• 1 preheat your oven to 200°c and line a 24cm square cake tin with baking paper.
• 2 press in the thawed pastry, lifting the edges to form a 1cm rim. prick the pastry base with a fork all over.
• 3 scatter the cherries and the almonds evenly over the pastry, then fill the gaps with sultanas. set aside.
• 4 melt the butter and syrup together. allow to cool.
• 5 beat in the eggs, vanilla and flouur into the cooled melted butter and syrup mixture.
• 6 pour this evenly over the pastry base and bake for approx 35 minutes, until the filling is set and firm to the touch.
• 7 when cool, carefully slide onto a board & cut into rectangles.
• 8 if desired decorate with melted chocolate by drizzling in lines over the top.