Cherry Bakewell Blondies

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 200g plain flour
• 175g light brown sugar
• 175g unsalted butter, melted
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100g ground almonds
• 150g glacé cherries, chopped
• 3 tbsp cherry jam
• 2 tsp milk (to loosen icing if needed)
• 75g icing sugar
• 50g flaked almonds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C)/gas 4 and line a 20cm square tin with baking paper, leaving a generous overhang on two sides — that's your lifting handle later.
2. Whisk the melted butter and light brown sugar in a large bowl for a full minute until glossy and the sugar has dissolved into the butter, then beat in the eggs and vanilla until the mixture is silky and slightly thickened. Properly emulsified butter and sugar is what gives blondies their fudgy chew.
3. Tip in the plain flour, baking powder, ground almonds and a pinch of fine salt — the salt is non-negotiable, it lifts the almond and stops the whole thing tasting flatly sweet. Fold gently with a spatula until just combined; stop the moment you can't see flour streaks. Overworked batter goes cakey, not fudgy. Fold through the chopped glacé cherries.
4. Taste a smear of the batter — it should taste rich and almondy, with the salt just nudging the sweetness into focus. Adjust with another small pinch if it tastes one-note.
5. Spoon two-thirds of the batter into the lined tin and smooth into the corners. Dollop the cherry jam over in teaspoonfuls and ripple through with the tip of a knife, then spoon over the remaining batter in rough patches so the jam peeks through in jewel-bright streaks.
6. Scatter the flaked almonds generously over the top and bake for 25–28 minutes, until the edges are deeply golden, the top is set with a faint crackle, and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging on — chewy, never wet. If the skewer comes out clean you've gone too far; pull at the moist-crumb stage and the carry-over heat finishes the job.
7. Cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes — cutting hot blondies tears them. Lift out using the paper overhang onto a board.
8. Whisk the icing sugar with the milk a few drops at a time until you have a thick, ribbony drizzle that falls in a slow line off the whisk. Too loose and it'll run straight off; too thick and it sits in lumps.
9. Zigzag the icing across the top, scatter the extra chopped glacé cherries over while the icing is still tacky so they hold fast, and cut into 12 generous squares with a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts. Serve with a pot of strong tea or coffee alongside.