Daim Blondies

The days are finally getting longer, hurrah!

We made it through winter, ish, and here's to daylight a fresh new start. I always consider February as my new year, the rigmarole of January just feels like an extension of the festive season. I've been trying my very hardest to do some baking, but everything has flopped so far.

There's been a spiced pear bundt with whiskey caramel...that fell into pieces as soon as I upturned it from the bundt tin. A peanut butter and banana loaf...that was so totally over cooked it tasted rubbish. A cardamom, hazelnut and bourbon cake...that just did not quite work.

So you'll know by now that when all else fails, I always resort back to brownies. For brownies are kind and they are forgiving when you're in a baking funk.

This time blondies packed with my one true love, daim. The chunks of daim melt down to form the most fudgiest, toffee like base which lends itself perfectly to a blondie. My favourite thing to do is to dunk them in a steaming cup of strong coffee.

D A I M   B L O N D I E S
Makes 16

125g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

240g, golden caster sugar

125g salted butter, melted

1 egg

1tsp vanilla extract

150g daim bars, chopped into rough chunks

• Grease a 20cm square baking tray with baking paper and heat the oven to 180 degrees.
• Whisk together the sugar, melted butter and egg together until light and creamy. About 5 minutes on a low-medium speed of a stand mixer.
• Gently beat in the egg and vanilla extract before folding in the remaining dry ingredients, including the daim bars, until just incorporated. 
• Pour into the prepared baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the centre starts to firm with a slight wobble.
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tray on a wire rack. Once fully cooled, I like to chill in the fridge for at least a few hours to firm up in order to be able to slice the blondies neatly. You can keep them in an airtight container at room temperature afterwards for a few days.

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