Soft and fudgy, studded with fresh cherries and white chocolate, these Bakewell blondies are an easy and delicious treat for afternoon tea as well as making a special summer dessert.
Hot on the heels of my recipes for raspberry blondies and Biscoff blondies are these cherry blondies, which, together with this cherry and almond cake, celebrate in season fresh cherries. Taking inspiration from the classic English almond slice the Bakewell Tart, I’ve combined juicy cherries with sweet white chocolate and nutty ground almonds.
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Why we love this recipe
- Adding ground almonds / almond flour to the blondie batter makes it extra gooey and moist – no dry blondies here!
- Cherry blondies are a delicious recipe to use up an abundance of fresh cherries, or cherries that are starting to wilt.
- These blondies are perfect for all occasions, from afternoon tea to picnics, potlucks / Jacobs join to dessert served with a scoop of ice cream.
Ingredients notes and substitutions
- Ground almonds – also known as almond flour or almond meal, I use blanched almond meal. Add flavour and texture, and help make cakes fudgy and moist.
- Flour – plain flour or all purpose flour.
- Sugars – soft brown sugar to give the blondies a butterscotch flavour and provide a soft fudgy texture, and white sugar for that crispy blondie edge.
- Almond extract / essence – this provides an extra sweet almond flavour, and really adds to the almond cherry blondie flavour, but you can leave it out if you don’t have it.
- Fresh cherries – You can use fresh cherries, or frozen cherries – no need to defrost frozen cherries before mixing them in to the blondie batter.
- White chocolate – I like to use a block of chocolate and roughly chop it but you can use white chocolate chips if you prefer.
- Flaked almonds – you can also top with nibbed almonds, roughly chopped almonds or leave them out altogether.
How to make this recipe
- Line a 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8″) square tin with baking paper/ baking parchment.
- Melt the butter and leave to cool.
- When the butter has cooled, mix it with the brown sugar and white sugar until just combined.
- Add the beaten eggs and using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or electric beaters, whisk…
- …until light, fluffy and doubled in size (see image 5 for texture.).
- Sift in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder.
- Add roughly chopped fresh cherries and roughly chopped white chocolate and gently stir to combine.
- Spoon in to the prepared tin, and gently spread out the batter to fill the tin.
- Sprinkle with flaked almonds and place in a preheated oven to bake.
FAQ
Are blondies supposed to be gooey?
Blondies are supposed to be a little gooey when they come out of the oven, as they will continue to cook a little more and firm up as they cool.
How do I stop blondies from going cakey?
To stop blondies from going cakey make sure you don’t overcook them.
How are blondies different from a cookie?
Brownies and blondies are classed as bar cookies and are softer and cakier than a cookie, but yet not as soft as a cake.
My recipe tips
- Beat the eggs, sugar and cooled butter until light and airy and doubled in size, this will help to create that meringue-like crispy top.
- Once you add the flour, don’t over-mix the batter.
- Don’t over bake. If you over cook the blondies they will come out cakey and dry, so keep an eye on them towards the end.
- Cool before removing from tin and cutting. They blondies can be harder to cut as they are squidgy when worm and can therefore become a little scruffy around the edges if you don’t.
Storage
Store the blondies for up to 3 days at room temperature. If the weather is hot and humid then wrap well and place in the fridge for up to 5 days. To freeze the blondies, cool completely then wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months. I like to cut the blondies and wrap individually so I can grab a couple as needed and they take less time to defrost.
Variations
- Swirl a tablespoon or two of raspberry jam before sprinkling with flaked almonds.
- Drizzle with icing – mix water and icing sugar and drizzle over the blondies for that extra bakewell tart element.
More easy baking recipes for you
Bakewell Blondies
Author: Robyn
Soft and fudgy, studded with fresh cherries and white chocolate, these Bakewell blondies are an easy and delicious treat for afternoon tea as well as making a special summer dessert.
Ingredients
- 160g (⅔ c) butter
- 155g (¾ c) soft brown sugar
- 80g (⅓ c) white sugar (granulated sugar)
- 2 eggs size large
- 50g (½ c) ground almonds (almond meal / almond flour)
- 175g (1⅛ c) plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
- ½ teaspoon almond essence
- 100g (3½ oz) white chocolate roughly chopped
- 200g (7 oz) fresh cherries (approx 325g / 11 oz with pips), pips taken out and cherries roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons flaked almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180˚C fan / 200˚C / 356˚F convection / 392˚F
- Line a 20 x 20 cm ( 8 x 8") square tin with baking paper / parchment.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a gently heat. Leave to cool.
- Tip the cooled melted butter into the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl and mix with the brown sugar, white sugar until just combined.
- Add the eggs, vanilla essence/extract and almond extract and whisk with the whisk attachment or electric beaters until light and fluffy and doubled in size.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and ground almonds and gently mix in with a spoon until just combined.
- Fold in the chopped white chocolate and chopped pitted cherries.
- Pour the batter in to the lined tin and spread out with a large spoon or spatula.
- Sprinkle with flaked almonds and place in the oven for 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle of the blondies comes out sticky, but not covered in raw blondie mixture.
- Cool in tin for 15-20 minutes then carefully lift out using the baking paper, and leave on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cut into 16 squares.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze.
Notes
Ground almonds – also known as almond flour or almond meal, I use blanched almond meal. Add flavour and texture, and help make cakes fudgy and moist.
Flour – plain flour or all purpose flour.
Sugars – soft brown sugar to give the blondies a butterscotch flavour and provide a soft fudgy texture, and white sugar for that crispy blondie edge.
Fresh cherries – You can use fresh cherries, or frozen cherries – no need to defrost frozen cherries before mixing them in to the blondie batter.
White chocolate – I like to use a block of chocolate and roughly chop it but you can use white chocolate chips if you prefer.
Flaked almonds – you can also top with nibbed almonds, roughly chopped almonds or leave them out altogether.
Beat the eggs, sugar and cooled butter until light and airy and doubled in size, this will help to create that meringue-like crispy top.
Once you add the flour, don’t over-mix the batter.
Don’t over bake. If you over cook the blondies they will come out cakey and dry, so keep an eye on them towards the end.
Cool before removing from tin and cutting. They blondies can be harder to cut as they are squidgy when worm and can therefore become a little scruffy around the edges if you don’t.
Nutrition
Calories: 247kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 180mgPotassium: 95mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 289IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 1mg
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