Daffodil Blondies – Core Recipe
Melt in the mouth, fluffy and light, yet rich and a little gooey on the inside, these Daffodil Blondies make wonderful cakes and are utterly heavenly when warmed and served with ice cream for dessert.
They make wonderful gifts and travel well. They are easy to wrap in a gift box or transported in a cake tin for a picnic or handed around to share with a group of friends or colleagues as a thank you or perhaps for a birthday celebration. I have even boxed them up and posted them to my girls for a surprise whilst away at university! In turn they have made many batches and gifted them as a thank you or treats to share at their various jobs and hospitals wards they have worked in. When skiing or out for a long walk, we often pack blondies individually in foil and throw them in our back pack for a little ‘pick me up’ (sometimes literally!) treat!
A variety of recipes based on Daffodil Blondies – Core Recipe
Although absolutely divine just as they are, you can use this Core Recipe as a base to add lots of additional ingredients and flavourings. Think of it as a blank canvas and use your imagination. Keep an eye out for these dishes:
Recipes already posted:
- Brown Butter and Miso Blondies with Pecan Nuts and White Chocolate
- White Chocolate Orange Blondies
- Salted Caramel Brown Butter Blondies
- Lemon and Poppyseed Blondies
- Orange and Almond Blondies with White Chocolate Orange Mini Easter Eggs
- Coffee Blondies with Brown Butter, Chunks of Milk Chocolate and a Coffee Glaze
- Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Blondies with Salted Peanuts
Recipes I plan to post:
- Cookie Dough Blondies
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blondies
- White Chocolate and Almond Blondies with Roast Almonds (gluten free)
- White Chocolate Blondies with Roast Pecan Nuts
- White Chocolate and Peanut Blondies with Roast Peanuts and Peanut Butter
- Slutty Chocolate Orange Blondies – a delicious layer of orange white chocolate chip cookies, Jaffa cakes, topped with orange blondies and a layer of white chocolate orange
- Slutty Easter Brownies – a chocolate chip cookie base, Oreos, blondie layer, chocolate ganache and mini chocolate eggs – Oh my!
- Cherry and Almond Blondies
- White Chocolate Cheesecake Blondies with Raspberries
- Biscoff and White Chocolate Blondies
- Biscoff and White Chocolate Cheesecake Blondies
- Caramel Aero Brown Butter Blondies with Miso and Pecan Nuts
- White Chocolate and Almond Blondies with Raspberries
- White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Blondies
- White Toblerone Blondies with Honey and Roast Almonds
How to make Daffodil Blondies – Core Recipe
Collect all your ingredients together and line the baking tin:
In order to guarantee soft and fudgy blondies, it is important to use the correct size tin – in this case it is a 20cm/8inch square tin. If your tin is larger the depth of your cake batter will be less and the blondies will cook more quickly. Equally if the tin is smaller, your cake batter will be deeper and the blondies will cook more slowly.
- Sit the tin on greaseproof paper making sure the paper is large enough to line the tin, come up the sides and have a little overhang.
- Cut out the corners of the paper so it will fit easily into the tin
- Fold the paper from corner to corner so the size of the centre of the paper matches the base of the tin. Slot inside the tin.
1 Tin and greaseproof paper 2 Cut out the corners 3 Fold, corner to corner, and slot inside the tin
Daffodil Blondies – Core Recipe ingredients:
Core ingredients –
- unsalted butter, in cubes
- sugar such as caster, soft brown sugar, dark brown sugar, muscovado sugar, honey, maple syrup
- fine salt
- eggs, lightly beaten
- vanilla paste or extract
- plain/all-purpose flour
Example additional ingredients –
- chopped chocolate – white, milk, dark
- fruit or fruit jams – raspberry, cherry, apricot, strawberry, plum, rhubarb – your choice
- nuts – eg pecan nuts, peanuts, almonds, macadamia, cashew, pistachio
- cheesecake layer
- Biscoff – spread and/or cookies
- other cookies eg Oreo, Jaffa biscuits, chocolate finger biscuits
- peanut butter
- dried fruit eg dates, apricots, cherries\
Make those blondies:
- Put the butter into a microwave safe jug or bowl and use the microwave to melt the butter. Do this in 15 second bursts, stirring between each burst. This should take 30 – 60 seconds depending on how cold the butter is and the power of your microwave. Alternatively, melt the butter in a saucepan over a moderate heat. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, put the sugars, eggs and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until thick and creamy. This will take around 3 minutes.
- When the eggs and sugar are ready, add the vanilla paste and slowly pour in the melted butter, at the side of the dish, and beat until completely incorporated.
- Put a sieve over the bowl and add the flour.
- Sift directly over the cake batter.
- Fold until nearly mixed in and add additional ingredients of your choice.
- Fold in but be careful not to over-mix at this stage.
- Transfer to your lined baking tin and level the surface, making sure the cake batter goes all the way into the corners.
- Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 28 – 32 minutes, depending on how squidgy you like the centre to be. (I cook mine for 30 minutes in London.) This gives me a slightly crispy top but a gorgeous gooey centre. The cake will be slightly risen but the centre will feel quite soft. Remember the cake will continue to cook after you have taken it out of the oven. Ovens do vary so make a note of how long it takes to cook your favourite consistency in your oven. Remember the less you cook it, the more gooey it will be and the more you cook it, the more cake like it will be.
- Leave to cool in the tin for around 30 minutes and then transfer, in the baking parchment, to a cooling rack.
- When the blondies are cold, lay on a chopping board and cut into 9, 12 or 16 slices.
- If I have time and/or if I want my blondies to look really smart, I put my blondies in the fridge to harden before I cut them. You will get much better lines and edges – definitely do this if trying to impress or gifting/selling them! However, they are best eaten at room temperature and can be stored at room temperature, in a sealed container, for up to 5 days. I doubt, however, they will last that long!
Core ingredients 1 Melt butter, set aside 2 Whisk sugars, eggs and salt … … until thick and creamy. 3 Add vanilla Slowly pour in butter. Beat to mix. 4 Add flour to sieve over bowl … 5 Sift directly over batter. 6 Fold until nearly mixed 7 Fold in any additional ingredients 8 Transfer to baking tin 9 Bake (White Chocolate Orange Blondies)
What is the best way to store blondies?
When you store blondies, it is important to cover them. They keep well for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge. However, if you are storing them in the fridge, remember to take them out to warm up to room temperature before you serve them.
What is the best way to warm blondies?
I adore warm blondies for dessert, served with ice cream. If you have made the blondies in advance and want to warm them up, simply zap them in the microwave for 10 – 20 seconds. The time it takes will depend on the temperature of the blondies to start with (ie have they been in the fridge or not?), the power of the microwave and how hot you actually want them. I like mine warm, but not too hot. I recommend heating them in 10 second bursts, until you are happy with the heat.
If you do not have a microwave, you could warm them in the oven. Cover with foil and place them in an oven preheated to Fan Oven 150°C/170°C/325°F/Gas 3 for 1 – 3 minutes. (Depending on how many you are heating and how hot you want them.) Check them after 1 minute and be careful not to overheat, as you may over cook them.
Can I freeze these blondies?
Yes you can! These blondies freeze well, covered, for up to 3 months.
Made this recipe?
If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.
Daffodil Blondies – Core Recipe
Serves 9 – 16
Ingredients
Core ingredients:
- 200g unsalted butter
- 200g sugar eg caster, soft brown, dark brown, muscovado,
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 3 medium eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
- 130g – 150g plain/all-purpose flour
Example additional ingredients –
- chopped chocolate – white, milk, dark
- fruit or fruit jams – raspberry, cherry, apricot, strawberry, plum, rhubarb – your choice
- nuts – eg pecan nuts, peanuts, almonds, macadamia, cashew, pistachio
- cheesecake layer
- Biscoff – spread and/or cookies
- other cookies eg Oreo, Jaffa biscuits, chocolate finger biscuits
- peanut butter
- peanut butterdried fruit eg dates, apricots, cherries
Instructions
-
Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
-
Preheat oven to fan oven 160°C /180°C/350°F/Gas 4
-
Put the butter into a microwave safe jug or bowl and use the microwave to melt the butter. Do this in 15 second bursts, stirring between each burst. This should take 30 – 60 seconds depending on how cold the butter is and the power of your microwave. Alternatively, melt the butter in a saucepan over a moderate heat. Set aside.
-
Meanwhile, put the sugars, eggs and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until thick and creamy. This will take around 3 minutes.
-
When the eggs and sugar are ready, add the vanilla paste and slowly pour in the melted butter, at the side of the dish, and beat until completely incorporated.
-
Put a sieve over the bowl and add the flour. Sift directly over the cake batter.
-
Fold until nearly mixed in and add additional ingredients of your choice.
-
Fold in but be careful not to over-mix at this stage.
-
Transfer to your lined baking tin and level the surface, making sure the cake batter goes all the way into the corners.
-
Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 28 – 32 minutes, depending on how squidgy you like the centre to be. I cook mine for 30 minutes. (See Recipe Notes.)
-
Leave to cool in the tin for around 30 minutes and then transfer, in the baking parchment, to a cooling rack.
-
When the blondies are cold, lay on a chopping board and cut into 9, 12 or 16 slices. (See Recipe Notes.)
Recipe Notes
Equipment:
- Microwave safe jug or heatproof bowl
- Electric whisk and mixing bowl
- Kitchen scales and measuring spoons
- Sieve
- 20cm/8inch square baking tin lined with baking parchment
Cooking times:
Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 28 – 32 minutes, depending on how squidgy you like the centre to be. (I cook mine for 30 minutes in London.) This gives me a slightly crispy top but a gorgeous gooey centre. The cake will be slightly risen but the centre will feel quite soft. Remember the cake will continue to cook after you have taken it out of the oven. Ovens do vary so make a note of how long it takes to cook your favourite consistency in your oven. Remember the less you cook it, the more gooey it will be and the more you cook it, the more cake like it will be.
Slicing blondies:
If I have time and/or if I want my blondies to look really smart, I put my blondies in the fridge to harden before I cut them. You will get much better lines and edges – definitely do this if trying to impress or gifting/selling them! However, they are best eaten at room temperature and can be stored at room temperature, in a sealed container, for up to 5 days. I doubt, however, they will last that long!