Banoffee Blondies

The blondie. I predict that some of you may be completely in the dark as to what this actually is. If that's you, well, I'll tell you what it is. 

It's the brownie's younger cousin, still holding all the charms that a classic brownie would have. Fudgy, dense and every bit the same, rich and delicious. But, the main differentiation which cuts them into two is the principal flavour. 

Blondies contain white chocolate, however, the main theme running throughout this tray bake is the brown sugar, creating a lush butterscotch flavour. To add to this, most choose to add in other extras, likewise to what you might expect from the counterpart sibling - brownie. Nuts are a popular choice to give it that textural contrast between them and the soft, dense batter as for their lovely flavour. 

As for my recipe, I have put my spin on the traditional banoffee concoction, choosing to swirl thick dulce de leche through the batter to which I also added in a mashed banana, resulting in a moorish, toffee-like consistency. To finish, I sprinkled over chopped hazelnuts and chewy banana chips. 

Cut into as big or as many small pieces as you like and depending on this, you may find that they last you up to 5 days, if that's true for your household then that's fine as these blondies keep well due to being so moist! (Moist...don't ya think it's a funny, weird word.)  Anyway, just store them in an air tight container. 

Banoffee  Blondies

Ingredients:

4 eggs 250g light brown soft sugar  1 tsp vanilla extract 250g unsalted butter, melted 130g plain flour 160g white chocolate (or chips), chopped 1 large ripe banana, mashed 130g dulce de leche or carnation caramel 40g hazelnuts, chopped 40g chewy banana chips

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C/ 325°F/ gas 3. Line and grease a square baking tin (20-23 cm in size) with parchment paper.
Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until the mixture is thick, pale and creamy. It should have almost doubled in volume and the mixture should leave a ribbon-like trail when the whisk is lifted out of the batter. This could take up to 10 minutes, or longer if doing by hand with a balloon whisk. 
Add in the melted butter, whilst still whisking, pouring slowly as you go. Now add in the flour and beat until just smooth and there are no lumps of flour left. Stir in the white chocolate and mashed banana. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin. Put the dulce de leche into a small bowl and beat with a spoon until it slackens. This will make it easier for it to be drizzled all over the cake batter. Sprinkle over the chopped hazelnuts and banana chips and then bake for 45-50 minutes or until just set. Leave the blondie to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Peel away the parchment paper. The blondie may sink slightly and crack on top just like a brownie. 
Cut the blondie into portions and serve. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for upto 5 days.