Blondies

Aug 3, 2023

Up until recently I’d never eaten a blondie before. Have you? In the spirit of cake research, I decided to look into some blondie recipes and see what the fuss was about. It turns out they’re bloody gorgeous. Why didn't anybody tell me?

If, like my sweetheart, you’ve no idea what a blondie is, let me enlighten you – it’s basically a brownie without the chocolate. The philosophers amongst you might ask, “Ah yes, but what in essence is a brownie?” A brownie – and indeed a blondie too - is an eggier, more buttery version of a standard sponge cake, that’s cooked more lightly. This the secret to their satisfying squidgyness and richness.

Sugar Free Londoner if you haven’t discovered her already, does lots of great, low carb, zero/low sugar recipes. She adds peanut butter to her blondies which is a really lovely addition. I’ve added a couple more eggs and a smidgen more flour here as I preferred the blondies a little less dense and fudgey and a tad more cakey. But you may prefer the former. Forgive me, I’m being immodest, but I’m really chuffed with my Jackson Pollock topping. I ran out of keto chocolate chips and put chocolate shavings on the top instead, as it came fresh from the oven. Finally, I added a saucy little spoonful of caramel essence, which I reckon shoots this blondie’s lush flavour even further towards heaven.

Ingredients here are for a 23cm square tin.

150g almond flour
130g smooth peanut butter
120g melted butter
4 eggs
4 tbsp sweetener (See options below)*
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp caramel essence
50g keto plain choc chips
Plain no added sugar choc for topping (optional)
Pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder

*Granulated natural sweetener options could include xylitol, erythritol, allulose. See Alternative Sweeteners page for more info. Each will have slightly different levels of sweetness. Adjust to taste.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.
Line a 23cm square cake tin with baking paper.
Mix together the eggs, peanut butter, melted butter, sweetener, vanilla essence and caramel essence until smooth.
In a separate bowl mix the almond flour, salt and baking powder.
Stir into the cake mix and blend.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Spread the cake batter evenly into the cake tin.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes - depending on the ferocity of your oven. Take care not to overcook. The cake should still be a little soft in the middle.
Use a knife to cut chocolate shavings over the top of the freshly cooked cake.
Cool in the tin.
Store in the fridge.