Cherry Bakewell Blondies

Hello there!

I’ve been wanting to bake Bakewell Blondies for quite some time now. I just couldn’t resist making them- because the idea of the flavours of a Bakewell tart put into a Blondie is just an all-round win in my opinion! Almond and Jam… a delicious combination. Usually, there is a pastry base, a jam layer, and almond filling, and decoration on top. These Blondies are basically the same, just without the pastry.

Also, since it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month, I thought it would be a great opportunity to bake some sweets and talk more about breast cancer and prevention.

First of all, the breasts are at the chest wall and developing in women during puberty, when the female hormones are starting to be produced (estrogen, progesterone) from the ovaries. In men, the breasts remain atrophic and rarely swelling (gynecomastia), so the man should be examined. The breast consists of 15-20 lobules, which contain many smaller lobules, which in turn contain glands that produce milk. The drainage is done by small tubes (pores) which flow into the nipple, located in the center of a dark area of skin called the areola.

Among smaller loules and resources there is fat. The breasts also contain lymph vessels and lymph nodes which trap bacteria, cancer cells and other harmful substances, preventing them to reach the circulation.

So breast are instruments used to produce milk and consisting of different tissues (glandular tissue, adipose tissue, muscle tissue), which in turn consist of several cells (glandular cells that produce milk, fat cells that support the breast, muscle cells which help in the secretion of milk).

Breast cancer is being developed from the glandular cells of resources and small lobules. Rarely, however, are developed malignancies and adipose or muscle tissue, called sarcomas. Any swelling of breast is not necessary cancer. Benign tumors are usually smooth, not extended to other organs and the removal involves the non-recurrence them. In contrast, breast cancer grows progressively, invades adjacent organs or tissues (skin, muscle, lymph nodes) and later can metastasize to distant organs (liver, lungs, bones, brain kg.). We emphasize that breast cancer is not contagious.

Prevention

Every woman wants to know what she can do to lower her risk of breast cancer. Some of the factors associated with breast cancer- being a woman, your age, and your genetics, for example- can't be changed. Other factors- being overweight, lack of exercise, smoking cigarettes, and eating unhealthy food- can be changed by making choices. By choosing the healthiest lifestyle options possible, you can empower yourself and make sure your breast cancer risk is as low as possible. Also, be vigilant about breast cancer detection. If you notice any changes in your breasts, such as a new lump or skin changes, consult your doctor. Also, ask your doctor when to begin mammograms and other screenings based on your personal history.

You can find more information here: https://www.breastcancer.org

So, back to our Cherry Bakewell Blondies!

To make them you will need:

50g butter, roughly chopped

100g golden caster sugar

1 tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp Rodda’s golden crust topped clotted cream (plus extra to serve)

100g white chocolate, chopped into small pieces

1 tsp almond extract

1 medium/large egg

100g plain flour

To decorate

100g cherry or berry jam

100g golden marzipan

100g white fondant

100g glace cherries

To serve

1 tub of Rodda’s clotted cream

Equipment

6 hole and 12 hole mini silicone cupcake moulds

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and place your silicone moulds on a flat baking trays.
• To make the blondies, put the butter, sugar and syrup and in a small saucepan. Set it over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Take the saucepan off the heat and add a heaped tablespoon of clotted cream, chopped chocolate and the almond extract. Leave the clotted cream and chocolate for a few minutes to melt in the pan, before transferring to a bowl to cool.
• Once cooled use a hand-held whisk to beat the egg into the mixture until thick and velvety.
• Sift over the flour and gently fold in, until just combined.
• Transfer the mixture into a disposable piping bag to make filling the silicone moulds easier. I also find using a silicone spatula really helps to both fold in the flour and transfer the mixture into the piping bag, ensuring every last bit of mixture is scraped clean from the bowl. To fill your piping bag it helps to placed it over a large tall glass, jug or my favourite a cornish ware storage jar. Fold the edges of the bag over the top of the jar, glass etc and fill with your blondie mixture.
• Once you’re piping bag is filled, twist the bag to close up before cutting off 1/2cm from the pointed end and carefully fill your silicone moulds, you’re looking at filling each cupcake hole to just over half way up.
• Bake for approx 10-15 minutes for the mini blondies and 15-20 minutes for the normal sized ones until golden, fairly firm to the touch, but a skewer inserted into the centre comes out a little sticky. Transfer the moulds on to a cooling rack and leave the blondies to cool completely in the moulds before removing.
• To assemble your cherry bakewell blondies, use a small sharp knife to remove the core and central ‘golden crust’ of each blondie. The ideal diameter of the cut out pieces is 2cm for the mini blondies and 4cm for the larger ones the ideal depth just under 1cm. You don’t want to go right through to the base, but more create a hollow core. Once removed set the golden crusts aside and trim off a few mm’s from the base-these trimming are tasty off cuts to enjoy as you put your bakewells together!
• Spoon some jam into the middle of the holes of each blondie. Return the trimmed cut-out golden crusts to the jam filled cores and press down gently but firmly. Some the jam may escape up the sides. If this does happen use a small paintbrush to paint over the top of the golden crust to act as your glaze and ‘edible glue’ to adhere the marzipan and fondant too. If you get a clean finish, use some of the jam or glace cherry syrup to paint a little glaze over the golden cut out crusts.
• To create these marzipan and fondant tops, roll your marzipan out on to a sheet of parchment paper to a few mm’s thickness.
• Next take your fondant and roll out over the top to create a sandwich layer of the two. If you find your marzipan/fondant sticking to your rolling pin it can help to place another sheet of parchment over the surface before before rolling out. Take a 5cm round cutter and cut out 6 circles followed by 12 mini ones, using a 3cm round cutter. Peel back the marzipan and fondant, leaving the cut out circles in place. Remove the circles with the aid of a small palette knife and carefully place these circles on top of your blondies, using your fingers to smooth over the surface. Finally cut your glace cherries on the parchment you used to roll out your icing. For the larger bakewell, cut a whole cherry in half placing a half in the centre of each icing topped blondie. Use the remaining cherries to cut out mini glace cherry pieces and place in the middle of each mini bakewell. 
• Enjoy served with the remaining Rodda’s golden crust topped clotted cream.

Recipe by: Frances Quinn (http://francesquinn.co.uk/cherry-bakewell-blondies/)