Brown Butter Blondies

Method

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1. Melt the butter in a light-coloured pan over medium heat and keep cooking, swirling, for 5 to 6 minutes until the foam subsides and the solids at the bottom turn hazelnut brown and smell nutty.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

2. Pour it into a large bowl, scraping in every brown fleck, and whisk in the brown sugar. Leave 10 minutes to cool to warm — hot butter will scramble the eggs.

   Mark done

3. Whisk in the eggs, the extra yolk and the vanilla, then keep whisking hard for a full 2 minutes. The batter will go from grainy to thick, glossy and ribbon-forming. This is the crackly top.

   Mark done

4. Fold in the flour and salt with a spatula until just combined, then fold in the white chocolate.

   Mark done

5. Scrape into a lined 20 x 20 cm tin and level the top.

   Mark done

6. Bake at 175°C / 350°F for 24 to 27 minutes. The edges should be set and the centre should still wobble very slightly — a skewer comes out with moist crumbs, not clean.

   Mark done Start 24 min timer

7. Scatter with flaky salt and cool completely in the tin before cutting. Cutting warm blondies gives you sixteen pieces of pudding.

   Mark done

Chef’s Tips

• A stainless or light pan for the butter, never black non-stick: you cannot see the colour change in a dark pan and burnt butter is bitter.
• Underbake rather than overbake. They firm up considerably as they cool.
• Line the tin with an overhang of paper and lift the whole slab out to cut. Cutting in the tin tears the edges.

Pairing Suggestions

• Vanilla ice cream and warm salted caramel
• Espresso
• A glass of cold milk

Storage & Reheating

Airtight at room temperature for 5 days. They improve on day two as the butterscotch deepens. Freeze cut squares for 3 months.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.