Cherry Bakewell blondies

Ingredients

• 100g marzipan, optional
• 150g unsalted butter
• 100g white chocolate, chopped
• 200g fresh cherries
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• ½ tsp almond extract, optional
• 225g light muscovado or light brown sugar
• 50g ground almonds
• 125g plain flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 25g flaked almonds

Step by step

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Get ahead

The blondies keep for up to 3 days in the fridge, or freeze for up to a month.

1. If adding the marzipan (for extra almondy flavour and chewy texture), cut it into small cubes (about 7-8mm) and pop in the freezer to chill while you make the blondie mixture – this stops it completely melting into the blondies during baking. Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4 and line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.
2. Melt the butter in a pan. Put the white chocolate in a large mixing bowl, pour in the hot butter and stir until the chocolate has melted. Leave to cool.
3. Keep a few whole cherries with stalks for decoration if you wish, then stone the rest with a cherry pitter, or put them in a plastic food bag and use a rolling pin to break them open, then pop out the stones. Try to keep the cherries as whole as possible. Drain on a double layer of kitchen paper and set aside.
4. When the chocolate mixture is cool, mix in the eggs and almond extract, then the sugar and ground almonds. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and fold together until just mixed, adding the diced marzipan if using. Pour into the cake tin, scatter the almonds on top and add the cherries, pushing them gently into the blondie mix. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and set on top, but still with a bit of a wobble – blondies should be fudgy in the centre, so take care not to overbake.
5. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin. Cut into squares to serve, decorated with the extra cherries if you wish.

source:https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/brownies/cherry-bakewell-blondies

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