Banoffee Blondies

Food blogging can be an expensive hobby. Especially because of the baking. I always have a never-ending supply of butter, flour, eggs and at least 4 types of sugar. I'm always on the look out for random props. I have accumulated a lot of...crap. I end up with with random things like spoon rests, too many bananas, extra cream, a can of dulce de leche and a huge jar of chocolate sauce in my fridge. But this time it was kind of great because I got home at 9pm one night last week, stared at all the crap and decided to bake these banoffee blondies.

I've always wanted to try making blondies, they're just brownies without the chocolate. I know that sounds like you're taking the best part of the brownie away, but think of it more like a delicious, buttery, brown sugar slice. So I used a recipe for regular blondies with chocolate chips, and added banana and dulce de leche. Then I served it with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Banoffee blondies. Like banoffee pie, but in slice form. All I can say is...OMG.

It was an incredibly easy recipe to whip up, as I mentioned I got home at 9pm and these were done an hour later. I was a little peeved because the original recipe said to bake it for 40 minutes, but I forgot that I used a wider pan so it was a lot thinner. Luckily I decided to check on the blondies after 20 minutes and they were neeeeearly overcooked. Fortunately they hadn't dried out, the banana helps keep these from drying out easily. As per usual I was too impatient to wait for it to completely cool before having a taste test. A spoon into the corner of the pan let me know that this was even better than I had hoped and not too rich or sweet.

So I was taking photos of these blondies...dolloping whipped cream on top...drizzling a little chocolate awesomesauce on top...and after getting some close ups of that piece of blondie, I couldn't take it anymore. I took a big bite out of it. I tried to keep taking photos, but that one bite had completely distracted me. I gave up and ate the whole thing.

Banoffee Blondies
(adapted from Martha's Choc Chip Blondies, makes approx 20)
115g (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup (110g) packed light-brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup ripe banana, mashed (about 1 medium banana)
1 cup (130g) plain flour (spooned and leveled)
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I used milk, but you can use semi-sweet too)
1/4 cup dulce de leche
Optional: Whipped cream, chocolate awesomesauce (recipe here) to serve

If you are making dulce de leche, take one unopened can of sweetened condensed milk and remove any labels from the can. Place in a medium saucepan and fill with water until it is at least halfway to three-quarters of the way up the side of the can. Cover with a lid and place on medium-high heat and boil for two hours. Make sure you check on the water level regularly, topping up the water so that the level is always at least halfway up the side of the can. DO NOT let the water run out or the can will explode. After two hours, carefully remove can from the boiling water and set aside to cool completely. Can be refrigerated unopened until ready for use. It is best to whip the dulce de leche with an electric mixer to make it light and smooth.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Brush a 17x27cm slice/brownie tin (or an 8-inch square baking pan) with some melted butter; line pan with a piece of baking paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter paper.

In a large bowl, lightly whisk butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla and mashed banana. Add flour and salt; stir just until moistened (do not overmix). Fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Use a teaspoon to place dollops of dulce de leche over the top of the batter. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips.

Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, mine took 20-25 minutes but Martha says around 40 mins, so it depends on what pan you use. Set pan on a wire rack, and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut into 20 pieces. Store blondies in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days. Serve topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce (or chocolate flakes).