Squidgy, sweet, tart & studded with delicious berries, these lemon-scented blondies are a quick & easy tea-time treat the whole family will enjoy.
Almost a year ago we loaned my daughter Kipper’s old car seat and stroller to some friends who were expecting their first baby. When I ran into the Mum and not-so-little Baby at the shops last month, I realised we were VERY overdue for a catch-up, and we invited them round for tea. Time to get baking! But what to make?
Losing touch
It’s so easy to loose touch with people, especially when you’re busy with children. In this case, the Dad used to be a colleague of DH, but shortly after his son’s birth he moved on to pastures new. They only live a couple of miles away, but it took nearly a year for us to get together for tea. Outrageous.
Special cakes and bakes
Under the circumstances, I wanted to make something a bit special for our afternoon tea. I’d been craving zingy lemon and also wanted to use up some of the white chocolate left over from decorating Kipper’s birthday cake. I decided to make something with a firm texture, hoping to minimise the crumbs produced by small people eating cake. And of course I couldn’t help adding some frozen mixed berries in a vain attempt to make the recipe slightly healthier!
Fabulous blondies
The end result was these fabulous lemon berry blondies. Squidgy, sweet, tart and studded with vibrant and delicious berries, they went down a storm! I have made a mental note to invite long-lost friends round for tea more often.
This recipe made 12 blondies, although of course you could cut them bigger or smaller. Use frozen berries if possible, as they are less likely to leach colour into the cake batter when stirred in.
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Lemon and berry blondies
Ingredients
- 50 g butter or margarine (¼ cup)
- 150 g white chocolate (approx 5oz, or roughly 1 cup chocolate chips)
- 80 g caster sugar (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp)
- 2 eggs
- 125 g plain flour (1 cup)
- zest and juice of a lemon
- 100 g mixed berries, frozen if possible - I used blackberries, raspberries & blueberries (1 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C (375F). Line a 20cm (8 inch) square tin with baking parchment.
- Melt the butter and white chocolate together, either in the microwave, or over a pan of simmering water. Stir well to combine. Stir in the sugar and allow to cool slightly.
- Beat in the eggs and mix well. Add the flour and lemon zest and juice, and stir to combine.
- Finally, add the berries and gently fold in, trying not to damage the berries too much.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake and 190C for around 25 minutes, until just cooked and beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before cutting into bars.
Notes
For more teatime treats try some apricot almond blondie bites, vegan millionaire’s shortbread, easy banana scones, or yummy plum crumble cake.
I’m linking these yummy blondies up to Simply Eggcellent, hosted by Belleau Kitchen.
Ethel
Any chance of adding ounces, teaspoons/tablespoons and cup measurements to the recipes? They sound delicious but I don’t know the metric system. Thank you.
Helen
Hi Ethel, I’ve updated this recipe with equivalent measures so I hope this helps. If you find a recipe that you like the look of but need to covert, you can also use google to work out the non-metric measurements. Happy baking! Helen x.
Dominic Franks (@belleaukitchen)
ooooh, don’t thee look great. Love the lemon and berry together and I love how the berries have burst into the cake mix…. so lovely and perfect for Simply Eggcellent, thank you x
Helen
Thanks Dominic! Yes, I love lemon and berries together too. Thanks for organising Simply Eggcellent 🙂
Blessing @ BB's Pantry
blondies are slowly creeping above brownies on my list of favourites. Might try these for my family’s next movie night #cookblogshare
Helen
Mine too! Thanks Blessing, I hope you all enjoy them.
Mandy Mazliah
Oh these look so good! Great tip about using frozen berries too, I’m going to try this. Thanks for linking up with #CookBlogShare this week x
Helen
Thanks Mandy! I can’t remember where I heard about the frozen berries thing, but it does work 🙂
Karen
Oh, I’m going to have to try these! They look so delicious, and not too difficult to make. PInning! #cookblogshare
Helen
Thanks Karen. They’re not difficult at all! I hope you enjoy them.
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain
Ooh yum, I love anything flavoured with fresh lemon! The tray bake looks delicious, I can certainly see why it went down a storm. #cookblogshare
Helen
Thanks Angela. I hadn’t thought of it as a traybake but I suppose you’re right!
Ramona W
Wow! These blondie bars would disappear quickly at my house. I love lemon and berries together and you have it all going on splendidly in this treat! 🙂
Christie
Lemon and blueberry is a favorite flavor combination in my house.
Helen
Here too! Just the right balance of sweet and tart – delicious!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
I love the taste of lemon. It adds such a freshness to whatever is made. I especially like it in desserts. Great recipe! Thank you for sharing.
Helen
Thanks Marisa. I agree!
choclette
Oh my Helen, can I come round for tea? I’ve made raspberry blondies and they are fabulous, but I adore your use of lemon to cut through that sweetness.
Helen
Thanks Choclette! You know you’re welcome any time 🙂
Denise Wright
I love lemon and berry together but I’m not much of a baker. Just a major eater of baked goods. This looks doable though and very, delicious. Can’t wait to try it!
Helen
Thanks Denise. They’re really easy, I’m sure you can do it! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Gingey Bites
These look great and really easy to make! I’m a bit useless at baking but I’ll try these 🙂
Helen
I hope you enjoy them! They are really easy 🙂
Emily
Yummy! Lemon flavoured bakes are the best (after almonds) x
Helen
Thanks Emily. What about lemon AND almond together? Yum!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
I really need to make more lemon desserts. They are perfect for spring time.
Helen
They’re perfect anytime! I just love how zesty and zingy they taste.
Everyday Sarah Jane
I LOVE the combination of lemon and berries – always tastes so bright and wonderful!!
Helen
Thanks! I do too – like sunshine in your mouth 😀
Kitty Wood
oh they look lovely! I’m made brownies but never blondies, lush
Helen
Thanks Kitty. They’re basically brownies but with white chocolate. I love these ones because the lemon makes them really zingy 😀
kellie anderson
Now you have me wanting to get in the kitchen and bake! Sounds yummy 🙂
Helen
Thanks Kellie! I hope you didn’t fight the urge too much…