White Chocolate and Cherry Blondies

I think most people will say that chocolate brownies are pretty great. I thought it would be a good idea to change it up a bit with these blondies. For those who haven't heard of blondies, firstly they are so delicious! They are essentially a brownie minus the dark chocolate and cocoa, they have a more caramel/butterscotch flavour to them and are incredibly moreish! I love summer in Britain, there are so many different types of fruit that are in season. British Cherries is the fruit of choice for this recipe. They are such a versatile and in my opinion, an underused fruit in desserts. I've used fresh cherries and made my own compote to mix through the blondie mix, however, if you are short of time, you can use a store bought cherry compote, it will work just as well!

Makes 24 small slices

You will need an 8 inch Square tin or a tin of a similar size

Ingredients:

170g Butter

200g Dark Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Salt

250g Plain Flour

1 tsp. Baking Powder

150g White Chocolate, chopped into small chunks

200g Cherries (or 150g cherry compote)

50ml Water

100g Sugar

squeeze of lemon juice

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius fan. Grease and line the tin with baking paper.

2. Firstly, make the compote. If you have bought cherry compote, don't worry about this step! Cut the cherries in half, removing the stone. Place in a pan with the sugar and water. Heat on a medium heat, continue stirring until the sugar dissolves and the cherries start to break down. Take off the heat once the cherries are sticky and syrupy. Set aside until the blondies are ready.

3. In a large mixing bowl or free standing mixer, whisk together the butter and sugar until well combined. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until all mixed together.

4. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold into the mixture until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chunks and the cherry compote.

5. Scoop the batter into the prepared tin and spread it evenly in the tin.

6. Place in the oven for about 25-30 minutes until the top is set and evenly browned.

7. Cool completely on a wire rack and slice into bars. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy!