In my 30 years of baking, I have never made Blondies. Maybe I should admit I have never been drawn to making these sunkissed babes of the baking world. Who has ever been challenged to a blondie bake off?
Why are brownies more fashionable I ask? Many amateur bakers pride themselves on ‘their’ brownie recipes. Is it just the chocolate? I have had many a bad brownie in my lifetime. Bad chocolate, margarine, coated in icing sugar ... far too much sugar, dry, stuffed full of sickly sweet rubbish. Blondies might have seemed the underdog ... ignored by bakers like me, but having baked them now, they are like that shy, best friend who takes a while to come out of their shell and shine. And boy do they shine. You can use fruit, nuts, flavours... and they just get better and better. Here are my Sunday lunch pudding blondies. I added white chocolate chopped into chips, freshly pitted cherries, and flaked almonds on the top. Recipe
112 g butter, melted - use proper butter - I use Lurpak or President unsalted.
220 g dark brown sugar - I use Dark Brown muscovado
1 large egg, lightly beaten - organic large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla paste (or essence - a good one)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
128 g plain / all-purpose flour - organic @dovesfarm white
60 g white chocolate chips @greenandblacks or butterscotch chips, flaked almonds (or chopped walnuts and chocolate chips are equally tasty)
Fresh cherries pitted and sliced in half. A handful will do.. or fresh raspberries ... I poke them into the mix just before I put it in the oven.
METHOD
Melt the butter. Stir in the sugar. Whisk in the egg. Whisk in the vanilla paste. Weigh out the flour, baking powder and baking soda together. Fold in the dry ingredients with the wet. Stir in your nuts and chips (I chopped up half a bar of white @greenandblacks chocolate) . Put into a small lined square tin. Poke the fresh cherries or raspberries into the top. Sprinkle the almonds or walnuts or hazelnuts on the top. Bake for between 18-25 minutes at 160 degrees. Mine took a little longer... I spiked with a metal skewer to see if it was still too wet in the middle and then added on another 5 mins on timer. Pull out of oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. Slice into squares ... gobble ...
