Raspberry Streusel Bar #DIYDOWNUNDERMAYCHALLENGE

This is my entry for the DIY Downunder May Challenge. I wanted to do something I haven't really worked with much, so I went for raspberry. This recipe went through 5 revisions and trying to fit that into a single month was a challenge in itself.

For the raspberry I found FA raspberry was the main type of raspberry I wanted to go for, it's just a delicious raspberry, not too candied, not too bitter, just right in the sweet spot for a bakery. I did want a little bit of a syrup feel along with the natural raspberry so I bulked it up with TFA sweet raspberry and added a little bit of lemon to keep the tartness.

The icing/glaze I built with cream cheese icing and TFA sweet cream to keep it more of a cream cheese type glaze, then a little Bavarian cream for sweetness and mouthfeel.

Trying to keep each layer prominent was tricky. With the first few revisions I either really liked the icing or I really liked the bakery aspect. How I got the bakery to play nice with the icing was this combination of Cereal 27, Graham Cracker Clear, and Cinnamon Danish Swirl. The CDS also added a nice touch of cinnamon spice that compliments the raspberry and gives the whole recipe a more bakery feel.

The last touch was a tiny bit of Super Sweet, not a sweetener I use often, but here it has its place. It just adds the sugar for the whole recipe and brings it to more of a dessert level.