These bars may look summery and summer may be almost officially over, but these bars are great all year round. I came across this recipe by accident. B and I had babysat for our niece and nephew and made buttermilk pancakes. We had a lot of buttermilk leftover, so I decided I was going to make some cookies to mail to my brother. I didn’t really read the recipe and after making these, I realized that there was no way that these bars were going to make it in the mail. AND the bars needed something more. They were good, but needed more flavor. Add a fruit topping? And they’re perfect 🙂

I’ve made the recipe a few times since, and refined it. So here you go. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Custard Bars with Fruit Topping

(adapted from Baking Bites)
For the crust
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp vanilla

For the custard:
1 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2 cups buttermilk

For the topping:
1 cup red jelly (not jam) such as currant, raspberry, or strawberry
1/2 pint sliced strawberries
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
1/2 pint fresh blueberries

Here what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Start with the crust. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until smooth and fluffy. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture resembles loose crumbs.
3. Pour the mixture into prepared pan and press down onto an even layer. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until it just begins to turn golden brown.
4. While the crust bakes, prepare the custard. In a large bowl combine all custard ingredients and beat until mixture is well combined and very smooth.
5. When crust is done, pour the filling into the warm crust and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the custard is just set. Cool bars before adding topping.
6. To make the fruit topping, melt the jelly in a small pan over low heat. In a bowl, toss berries and the warm jelly gently until well mixed.  Refrigerate until ready to serve and then toss onto cooled bars.

The bars, out of the oven. YUM.

Fruit topping, ready to be added to the bars.