I’m a huge fan of fellow crime writer J M Hall, and his Thirsk Garden Centre mystery series. When a case gets particularly knotty, his three sleuths – Pat, Liz and Thelma – hunker down at the garden centre café and chew over suspects and motives.
They’ve also been known to treat themselves to the café’s speciality, Melmerby Slice. In honour of the publication of the latest in the series, A Brush With Death, I’m delighted to share the recipe.
Melmerby Slice
The famous Thirsk Garden Centre teatime treat, the recipe for which has hitherto been a fiercely guarded secret.
If not devoured immediately, Melmerby Slices keep for about three days in a plastic box but will start to soften. They can also be frozen.
Note before you begin: after mixing the biscuit layer, don’t forget to weigh out 175g into a fresh bowl, as it’s used for the crumble. This is clearly explained in step 2, but speaking from experience, easily forgotten.
Cuts into 18 bars
FOR THE BISCUIT LAYER
350g plain flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
125g caster sugar
225g butter, room temperature
FOR THE FILLING
200g cherry jam (or other red jam)
100g summer fruits, frozen, or defrosted, or fresh
FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING
50g walnuts or flaked almonds, toasted and chopped
50g rolled oats or jumbo oats
50g light muscovado sugar
25g butter, room temperature
1 Line a traybake tin with baking paper or foil, folding it right into the edges, and butter lightly.
2 Put the flour, cinnamon and caster sugar into a bowl and mix. Add the 225g butter and rub in till sandy and beginning to clump. If you prefer washing up to sticky fingers, you can do this is a food mixer. Transfer 175g of this mixture to a bowl, to use as a base for the topping.
3 Tip the remaining flour mixture into the lined tin and use a spatula to spread it out evenly, then press down firmly all over. Put into the oven – no need to preheat unless you’re in a mad rush – turn it to 170C fan and bake for 22-27 minutes, rotating at half time, till just golden round the edges and on the point of browning.
4 Make the filling and topping while the biscuit layer is in the oven, so you can add them while it’s still hot. In one bowl, mix the jam and lightly mash in the fruit (no problem if it’s still frozen, it will soon melt). In another bowl, mix the reserved flour mixture, nuts, oats and muscovado, then rub in the 25g butter until crumbly.
5 When the biscuit base comes out of the oven, spread thinly with the jam mixture, right to the edges, then sprinkle over the crumble mixture and spread evenly with your fingers so the jam is roughly covered. Put back in the oven for a further 25 minutes, rotating at half time, till the mixture is brown and the fruit layer bubbling.
6 Allow to cool completely in the tin (two to three hours) then lift out, cut into slices and sell for £1.75 each.
NOTE: At Christmas this is transformed into Melmerby Mistletoe Slice by switching the jam and fruit for a layer of mincemeat (about 250g) and the cinnamon for mixed spice; for a snowy finish, dust with icing sugar.
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