Pear and Ginger Oat Slice

I think I've mentioned previously, last christmas my brother and his partner got me a "Cookie a Day" desk calendar. Sometimes the recipes aren't exactly "cookies".

July 30th showcased "Berry Oat Bars", with the next day offering a variation using dried pears and ginger instead of mixed berries. I thought of my mum straight away, but figured I should make it first, to make sure it was worth posting the recipe up to her (and the dried fruit, which may be hard to get in Georgetown).

I think I can say, this slice was a big success. I was thinking I must've done it wrong when the top cracked like you see in the pic above when I cut it, but then I took another look at the pic with the recipe, and I feel a lot better now!

This is rich, so moist... very, very nice. I've Aussie-ified the recipe below from the American version in the calendar, and included the little differences I made. Because the ginger has such a strong flavour I increased the amount of pear and decreased the ginger instead of using the same quantity of each (duh), and I think it worked well.

This is such an incredibly simple recipe to follow, I can't wait to try the other variations my calendar suggested.

Pear and Ginger Oat Slice
BASE:
110g butter, melted
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats

TOPPING:
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup self-raising flour
1 cup dessicated coconut
160g dried pear, chopped
80g ginger, chopped

Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease and line a slice tin.

Base: Mix the ingredients for the base together, then press into the base of the pan.

Topping: In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold the flour, coconut, and chopped fruit into the egg mixture, then spread over the base.

Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden. This apparently keeps in an airtight container for 2-3 days.


As you'll notice, you don't pre-bake the base at all... I think next time I might give it a quick 5 minutes in the oven before throwing the topping on (or reduce the heat to 180C). While it was all cooked, I just felt that the topping was done when the base could have had a touch longer.