Blondies

The perfect blondies, the Guardian

(Voor een bakvorm van 20 x 20cm)

165g boter, in blokjes

75g pecan noten, grof gehakt

225g bloem

1 tl bak poeder

½ tl zout

175g licht bruine basterd suiker

50g rietsuiker

2 eieren, geklopt

1 tl vanille extract

170g witte chocolade, grof gehakt

Zee zout vlokken, voor erboven op (optioneel)

Melt the butter in a wide, light-coloured pan over a medium-low heat, swirling to help it along. Once the foam has died down, watch it like a hawk; as soon as the solids at the bottom turn from white to toasty brown and the butter smells almost nutty, tip into a bowl to cool until barely warm.

Toast the pecans in the same pan until they, too, smell nutty, then set aside.

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark six and grease a square baking tin roughly 20cm in size. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl, then stir the sugars into the cooled butter. Stir in the eggs and vanilla, then gently fold the wet ingredients into the flour, along with the white chocolate and nuts, until just combined, being careful not to overmix.

Pour into the tin and bake for 22-25 minutes, until set on top. Meanwhile, prepare a shallow sink of iced water; when the blondies are cooked, plunge in the tin, being careful not to drown the blondies, and allow to cool. Cut into squares and eat.

Amerika - Gebak