These fresh blueberry and cherry cake bars are chewy and bursting with flavor. They are one of my favorite summer desserts for parties. If you’re looking for some easy summer desserts with few ingredients, then you’ll love them! Today’s version is a mixed berry dessert, but you can use all cherries, blueberries or any other berry you like. Fresh or frozen. So let’s get to baking these fresh blueberry and cherry cake bars!
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8" metal square pan with parchment paper coming up the sides, so it can be used to remove the dessert after it bakes. Grease the parchment paper with a stick of butter or butter spray.
Melt the butter and sugar together on the stove in a pan on medium heat. Stir regularly with a whisk until the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and give the mixture a final stir. Turn off the heat, letting the mixture cool down for a few minutes while you work on the next step. If the mixture cools completely, you’ll need to heat it up to lukewarm so it’s easy to pour and work with in the next step.
Pour the butter/sugar/vanilla mixture In a large bowl. Slowly mix in the eggs, while stirring the mixture with a whisk. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix the batter until combined. Then gently fold in the fresh blueberries and cherries to make the cake bar batter.
Using a spatula, transfer the batter into the pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top of the berry cake bars are golden brown. The edges will cook faster than the center, which is perfectly fine and adds to the chewy texture of the bars. If the center of the batter looks very wet, keep the cake bars in the oven for a few more minutes. The texture should be similar to a brownie.
Once the cake bars are done, let them cool for 15 minutes. Remove the dessert from the tray, let it cool for another 15 minutes. Then slice into bars. Two cuts in each direction will yield 9 bars. Store the fresh blueberry and cherry cake bars in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. (They taste great cold, too!)
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Notes
Do you need parchment paper? Yes. Using greased parchment paper in the metal pan helps turn the edges of these fresh blueberry and cherry cake bars golden brown. It also makes it easier to remove the baked dessert in one piece.
How do you remove cherry pits? To remove the cherry pits, use a bulk cherry pitter, straw, chopstick, or manually cut the cherries with a knife and remove the pits with your fingers.
When are dessert bars done cooking? The bars are done cooking when the texture is similar to a brownie. The edges cook faster than the center, adding to the chewy texture of the bars. If the center of the batter looks very wet, keep the cake bars in the oven for a few more minutes.
Any tips for serving this dessert? Serve cake bars on a pretty tray. I like this white one because it looks pretty to serve a square food item on a circular tray.