Name: Old fashioned Fruit Bar Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: PT40 Minutes
Yield: 20-24 bars
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 180 g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 170 g demerara sugar; 2 medium free-range eggs; 180 g plain flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 180 g currants; 180 g sultanas

There is something rather lovely about old-fashioned baking. The sort of recipes that rely on a handful of everyday ingredients, don’t need any elaborate finishing touches and somehow taste all the better for their simplicity.

These Old-Fashioned Fruit Bars are a little like the cakes and biscuits you might remember finding in a biscuit tin, always there when someone fancied something sweet. They have a lightly crisp, golden top and a dense, buttery centre, generously filled with currants and sultanas. The edges have a little more bite, while the middle stays wonderfully tender and slightly crumbly.

What I particularly like about these bars is that they aren’t quite a cake or a biscuit, but somewhere comfortably in between. They’re rich without being overly sweet, with the dried fruit giving each bite its own little burst of flavour. A good cup of tea is really all they need.

They’re also the sort of bake that travels beautifully. Cut into squares and wrapped up, they’re great for picnics, long walks or simply keeping in a tin at home for whenever you feel like a little treat.

Why you’ll Love this Recipe

Made from store-cupboard staples. With familiar baking ingredients and dried fruit, there’s no need for a special shopping trip. It’s an easy bake to put together whenever the mood strikes.
Keeps well. Stored in an airtight tin, these bars stay fresh for several days, so you can enjoy them throughout the week.
Cut them to suit the occasion. Small squares work beautifully for an afternoon tea spread, while larger portions are ideal for lunchboxes or a snack on the go.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Unsalted butter. Softened to room temperature so it creams easily with the sugar. This is particularly important for these bars, as beating the butter and sugar together is what gives the mixture its lightness before the fruit is added.

Demerara sugar. Its subtle caramel flavour and slightly coarse texture work beautifully in this old-fashioned bake, giving the bars a rich sweetness without being overpowering.

Eggs. Help bind everything together and give the bars enough structure to hold their shape once baked and cooled.

Plain flour. Forms the base of the mixture. There’s no need for self-raising flour here, as we’re adding a little baking powder separately.

Baking powder. Just enough to give the bars a slight lift while keeping their characteristic dense, buttery texture.

Currants. Small, dark and full of flavour, currants spread evenly through the mixture and give every bite a little sweetness.

Sultanas. Plumper and softer than currants, they add a different texture and a mellow, fruity sweetness. Using both fruits gives the bars a good balance of flavour and texture.

How To Make It

Prepare the tin and oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas mark 4. Line a baking tray approximately 20 × 28 cm and 4 cm deep with baking paper, leaving a little overhang to help lift the bars out once cooled.

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat the softened butter and demerara sugar together until the mixture is noticeably lighter, pale and fluffy. This is the most important part of the preparation. With so much dried fruit going into the mixture, thorough creaming is your best opportunity to incorporate air and prevent the bars from becoming too heavy. Give this stage a little extra time rather than rushing it.

Add the eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until fully incorporated. The mixture should look creamy and well combined before the dry ingredients go in.

Fold in the flour and fruit. Sift the plain flour and baking powder together, then add them to the mixture along with the currants and sultanas. Fold everything together gently until the flour has disappeared and the fruit is evenly distributed. The mixture will be quite thick, which is exactly what you want.

Bake and level the edges. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared tin and bake for 15 minutes. You’ll notice the edges beginning to rise. Take the tin out and gently press them down with a dough scraper or palette knife to bring them level with the centre. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and the bars are baked through.

Cool before cutting. Once out of the oven, press down the edges again to give the slab an even surface. Leave it to cool completely in the tin before lifting it out and cutting into squares or rectangles. The bars are quite delicate while warm and can crumble if you try to cut them too soon.

Helpful Tips and Tricks

Room-temperature butter makes a difference. The butter should be soft enough to beat easily but not melted or greasy. If it’s too cold, it won’t cream properly with the sugar, and if it’s too warm, the mixture won’t hold as much air.
Don’t worry if the mixture looks slightly curdled. Adding eggs to a butter and sugar mixture can sometimes make it look a little split, particularly if the eggs are cold. It usually comes together once the flour is added. Having the eggs at room temperature helps.
There’s room to experiment with the dried fruit. Currants and sultanas give these bars their traditional flavour, but raisins or finely chopped dried apricots would also work. Keep the overall weight of the fruit the same so the balance of the mixture isn’t affected.
The size of your tin matters. A larger tin will produce thinner bars that may bake more quickly, while a smaller one will give you thicker bars that need longer in the oven. The recommended tin size gives the bars their characteristic depth.
Store them once completely cooled. An airtight tin at room temperature is ideal. Place a sheet of baking paper between layers if you’re stacking them, particularly if the tops are a little delicate.

Looking for more tea-time bakes? Here are few of our favourites:

Black Tahini and Sesame Cookies

Matcha Cookies with White Chocolate

Pistachio Olive Oil Tea Cakes with Lemon and Rose

If you make this recipe I’d love to hear how it turned out. Leave a comment below and let me know. It genuinely makes a difference to know what’s working and what isn’t, and I read every single one. You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook where I share new recipes, behind the scenes and whatever else is happening in the kitchen at Poetry of Spices.