Bakewell Blondies
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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