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    Recipes » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

    Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Crumble Bars

    Last updated - July 11, 2021; Published - February 14, 2020 By Rhian Williams 8 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    A lemon crumble bar on a marble slab against a brown background

    These Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Crumble Bars are the perfect sweet treat: a crunchy base topped a creamy, tangy lemon curd and a "buttery" crumble topping. They're refined sugar free and are an excellent make-ahead for Easter, Mother's Day, bridal showers and baby showers! They're great for sharing and an excellent alternative to Lemon Pie!

    A lemon crumble bar on a marble slab against a brown background

    Why does this recipe use brown rice flour?

    You can use white rice flour or gluten-free flour, but I found the texture was much better with brown rice flour. If you can't find brown rice flour in your local supermarket, you'll be able to find it in local health stores or online.

    How is the lemon curd made?

    The lemon curd is made using shop-bought custard powder.

    This is my favourite custard powder - it's vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free, and contains just 4 simple ingredients!

    A tin of Birds custard powder

    Not only does this custard powder act as a thickener, making the lemon curd extra creamy, but it also adds a lovely colour without having to use something like turmeric.

    What can the custard powder be replaced with?

    If you can't get hold of a shop-bought custard powder, you can replace it with the same amount of cornflour (cornstarch) or arrowroot, which will result in a similar texture, though the colour will be considerably less yellow.

    To add yellow colour, I would suggest adding a tiny pinch of saffron, which I much prefer to turmeric as it has a much milder flavour.

    What type of plant-based milk is used to make the lemon curd?

    You can use any type of plant-based milk, though results do vary depending on which one you choose: cashew, oat or coconut milk make the creamiest and thickest curd, whilst almond milk will be less creamy. I personally prefer to use rice milk as it creates a just-set lemon curd-like consistency which I love.

    How to make this recipe

    Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

    • Mix together the ingredients for the dough in a glass mixing bowl.
    Crumble bar dough in a glass bowl
    • Transfer one half into a square baking tin.

    Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to remove the bars after.

    • Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges, then use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.
    Raw crumble bar dough along the bottom of a square baking tin
    • Bake in oven for 10 minutes - you'll be baking this again so you don't want to over-bake at this stage!
    Crumble bar base in a square baking tin
    • Measure out the rice milk in a measuring jug.
    • Pour the milk into a pan, leaving behind a few tablespoons of milk in the jug.
    • Heat up the milk.
    • Add the custard powder to the remaining milk in the jug and mix well, ensuring it has dissolved completely.
    • Once the milk in the pan is steaming, add approximately half of the hot milk to the bowl with the dissolved custard powder, mix well and transfer the custard powder mixture to the pan.
    • Mix well and keep stirring on a low heat for around 5 minutes, until thickened.
    • Add the lemon juice and maple syrup.
    Lemon curd in a silver saucepan
    • Pour the lemon curd over the base until it’s completely evenly covered and make sure the surface is smooth.

    Tip: Tap the dish gently on the counter a few times to get rid of the air bubbles.

    Lemon curd on top of crumble bar base in a square baking tin
    • Use your fingers to crumble the rest of the dough mixture over the top until it is all used up and the lemon curd completely covered.
    Crumble bar dough sprinkled over lemon curd in a square baking tin
    • Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
    Baked lemon crumble bars in a square baking tin
    • Leave to cool then keep in the fridge for at least 4 hours until it firms up - may take slightly longer depending on the type of custard powder you use, the temperature of your fridge etc.
    • Cut into squares once it’s completely firmed up.

    How long do these keep for?

    These Lemon Crumble Bars do taste best when fresh, but they keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

    Substitutions you can make

    • you can replace the coconut oil with coconut butter
    • you can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc
    • the ground almonds (almond meal) can be replaced with ground walnuts
    • for a nut-free version, use ground sunflower seeds instead of ground almonds and use a nut-free plant-based milk
    • you can replace the brown rice flour with plain flour if you’re not gluten-free
    • you can add flaked or desiccated coconut or oats to the crumble topping.

    Substitutions to be careful of

    • you can use white rice flour or gluten-free flour but the texture is much better with brown rice flour
    • I would recommend making the curd with rice milk - see recipe notes for details.
    Three lemon crumble bars on a marble background

    More vegan dessert recipes

    • Chocolate Lava Cake
    • Apple Crumble Bars
    • Coconut Macaroons
    • Lemon Bars
    • Strawberry Trifle
    • Sugar Cookies
    • Strawberry Shortcake
    • Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake
    • Yule Log
    • Lemon Cheesecake Crumble Bars
    • Blueberry Crumble Bars
    • Lemon Pudding
    • Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
    • Vegan Baked Cheesecake
    • Churros 

    If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

    A lemon crumble bar on a marble slab against a brown background

    Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Crumble Bars

    These Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Crumble Bars are the perfect sweet treat: a crunchy base topped a creamy, tangy lemon curd and a "buttery" crumble topping. They're great for sharing!
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: gluten-free crumble bars, lemon crumble bars, vegan crumble bars
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour
    Servings: 16 bars
    Calories: 220kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    Ingredients

    For the crumble:

    • 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil  (or sub coconut butter)
    • 10 tablespoons maple syrup  (or sub any other similar sweetener)
    • 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
    • 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
    • 150 g (1 cup) brown rice flour ** (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
    • Pinch salt

    For the lemon curd:

    • 900 ml (3 ¾ cup) rice milk *** (see notes)
    • 95 g (¾ cup) custard powder **** (or sub cornflour/cornstarch or arrowroot)
    • 17 tablespoons lemon juice
    • 8 tablespoons maple syrup

    Instructions

    For the crumble:

    • Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
    • Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave
    • Add the maple syrup, milk, ground almonds, brown rice flour and salt and mix well – add an extra splash of milk if it’s looking too dry to combine
    • Divide the dough in half
    • Transfer one half of the dough into a square or rectangular baking tin lined with greased baking paper – I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin
    • Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges, then use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even
    • Bake in oven for 10 minutes
    • Place the remaining half of the dough in the fridge while you make the rest (this will help it firm up and make it easier to crumble over the top after)

    For the lemon curd:

    • Measure out the milk in a jug or measuring container
    • Pour the milk into a pan, leaving behind a few tablespoons of milk in the jug
    • Heat up the milk in the pan
    • Add the custard powder to the remaining milk in the jug and mix well, ensuring it has dissolved completely
    • Once the milk in the pan is steaming, add approximately half of the hot milk to the bowl with the dissolved custard powder, mix well and transfer the custard powder mixture to the pan
    • Mix well and keep stirring on a low heat for around 5 minutes, until thickened
    • Add the lemon juice and maple syrup
    • Taste and add extra lemon juice or maple syrup if desired

    To assemble:

    • Pour the lemon curd over the base until it’s completely evenly covered and make sure the surface is smooth
    • Use your fingers to crumble the rest of the dough mixture over the top until it is all used up and the lemon curd is completely covered

    • Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown
    • Leave to cool then keep in the fridge for at least 4 hours until it firms up (may take slightly longer depending on the type of custard powder you use, the temperature of your fridge etc)
    • Cut into squares once it’s completely firmed up
    • Tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days

    Notes

    *You can alternatively use almond flour
    **You can use white rice flour or gluten-free flour but the texture is much better with brown rice flour.
    ***You can use any type of plant-based milk, though results do vary depending on which one you choose: cashew, oat or coconut milk make a super thick and creamy curd, whilst almond milk will be less creamy. I like to use rice milk as it creates a just-set lemon curd-like consistency which I love.
    ****If you can’t get hold of a shop-bought custard powder, you can substitute it with the same amount cornflour (cornstarch) or arrowroot, which will result in the same texture, though the colour will be considerably less yellow. To add yellow colour, I would suggest adding a tiny pinch of saffron, which I much prefer to turmeric as it has a much milder flavour.
    Nutrition Facts
    Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Crumble Bars
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 220 Calories from Fat 72
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 8g12%
    Saturated Fat 2g10%
    Cholesterol 15mg5%
    Sodium 42mg2%
    Potassium 126mg4%
    Carbohydrates 36g12%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 17g19%
    Protein 3g6%
    Vitamin A 13IU0%
    Vitamin C 6mg7%
    Calcium 66mg7%
    Iron 1mg6%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Nereda

      February 19, 2020 at 8:13 am

      Hi, this recipe looks amazing!
      I can’t seem to find the ingredients for the base. I’m sure I just can’t see it. Can you direct me to it please?
      Kind regards
      Nereda

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        February 19, 2020 at 2:00 pm

        Hi - thank you so much! The recipe is at the bottom of the post!

    2. Sumah

      March 15, 2020 at 12:40 am

      Just wondering if the 10 tablespoons of maple syrup is correct? My base was not crumbly at all - soft like cookie dough. I added an extra bit of rice flour but still no luck. Obviously I did something wrong! Help! Would appreciate any advice.

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        March 15, 2020 at 2:33 pm

        So sorry to hear that!! The 10 tablespoons is correct. Did you place it in the fridge whilst making the rest before you crumbled it over the top? It's meant to be quite soft at first because it's easier to spread across the bottom of the baking dish for the base, but putting it in the fridge whilst you make the filling will help it firm up and easier to crumble over afterwards!

    3. Wendy

      June 13, 2020 at 7:50 pm

      Question. I think I may have put my last two ingredients (maple syrup and lemon juice) in too soon. The custard thickened, I added the two ingredients and it wasn’t as thick. I stirred for another five min and it wasn’t getting thick again. I didn’t see in the instructions to continue stirring so I poured the custard onto the crust. The remaining dough I crumbled and it all sunk. 🙁
      Should I have stirred longer after adding lemon juice and maple syrup?

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        June 13, 2020 at 8:36 pm

        So sorry to hear that! Did you use the same Bird's custard powder?

    4. Elaine

      March 27, 2021 at 8:20 pm

      I'm n an oil free diet.....is there anyway you could leave out the oil or sub something else??

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        March 27, 2021 at 8:59 pm

        Something like almond butter should work if you're ok with that!

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    Hi, I'm Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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