Salted Caramel & White Chocolate Blondies

Things have a been a little quiet on here recently mainly because I've just been so busy with work and secondly I've been inundated by cake orders for friends/ family/ sister's work colleagues. It's a regular occurrence lately that I don't get to bed until 3 or 4am (late night caking), have a few hours sleep and then head to work again. At times I just feel so exhausted and I'm pretty sure lack of sleep is contribution to this horrible cold I've got but ultimately I still enjoy my baking immensely, even though it is also incredibly stressful at times.

On another note, Great British Bake Off has started again! Hurrah! Did any of you guys watch it? I'm still guessing who could possibly win but so far the people who I thought would be dark horses have turned out to be rather um, rubbish. I must admit, the challenges in this first episode: madeira cake and chocolate work are both weaknesses of mine. I think I may have to do some practising to improve!

I'll have you know that this is actually an impromptu post; the photos were all taken using my phone and I never had intention on blogging it. But it was quite lucky that this was an experiment turned great and was good enough to distribute to my faithful guinea pigs. Hopefully I'll be able to remake these and take some decent photos using my DSLR at a later date but for now, ta-daaahhh! Salted Caramel and White Chocolate Blondies.

This is quite a customisable recipe- you can put whatever add ins you like- I think next time i'll add in some pecans or walnuts for that extra bit of crunch. The browned butter make the blondies so deliciously fragrant, and the hefty dose of vanilla and hint of cinnamon adds that little bit of extra depth. Don't fear, like my preference for brownies there will be no cakey-ness in sight. The middle stays lovely and gooey and if stored in the fridge makes it much more dense and chewy. Did I mention goo?

SALTED CARAMEL & WHITE CHOCOLATE BLONDIES
Yields 15 squares

Salted Caramel

410g can evaporated milk
150g maple syrup
3/4 tsp sea salt

Blondies

140g unsalted butter
100g soft dark brown sugar
80g caster sugar
1 large egg
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla paste/ extract
170g plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt, plus extra to sprinkle
100g white chocolate, chopped

1. To make the salted caramel: Place the evaporated milk into a saucepan and stir in the maple syrup. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently for approximately 20-30mins until the mixture has reduced and thickened to the consistency of a thick pouring custard. Stir in the salt and pour into a sterilised jar to let cool.
2.  Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line a 12 x 8" baking tray with baking parchment/greaseproof paper.
3. In a light coloured, medium sized saucepan- melt the butter over a medium heat. Continue to cook the butter until it turns a pale golden brown and the milk solids turn into flecks of reddy brown colour. The butter at this stage will smell lovely with a nutty aroma. Be careful not to heat the butter too long as it can burn quite easily in a matter of seconds. Turn off the heat and add the sugars, mixing to combine. Leave to cool slightly.
4. Sift the remaining dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside.
5. Add the egg and egg yolks into the butter mixture, beating vigorously in between. The mixture should be glossy, thick and well blended.
6. Add the sifted dry ingredients and vanilla extract and beat vigorously for 50 strokes using a wooden spoon/ spatula. Pour into the prepared baking tray and place dollops of the cooled salted caramel on top. Using a knife, swirl it gently to distribute the caramel to the whole blondie. Note: you'll only need half the amount of caramel made earlier for this recipe.
7. Sprinkle the chopped white chocolate on top and bake for 17-18 minutes.
8. Sprinkle the top of the blondie with a little sea salt once out of the oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Notes:

• The salted caramel can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. 
• Store the blondies refrigerated in an airtight container.