- Organize an oven rack within the middle place and preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 20 × 20cm baking tray, ideally steel, with foil, urgent it into the corners and smoothing it throughout the underside and up the perimeters. Brush the underside and sides of the foil with a skinny layer of melted butter and set the pan apart.
- Place the cashews on a reducing board and chop till the biggest items are in regards to the measurement of a pea. Put aside.
- Line a small baking tray with a silicone baking mat or baking paper and set it subsequent to the range. Mix 55 g of the butter, 55 g of the brown sugar, and 30 ml water in a medium saucepan. Set the saucepan over medium warmth and convey to a boil, stirring with a heatproof versatile spatula to soften the butter and dissolve the sugar. As soon as the combination is boiling, stir within the chopped cashews and cook dinner, stirring consistently, till the nuts are fully coated and there isn’t any liquid toffee oozing throughout the underside of the saucepan, about 5 minutes. See notice.
- Scrape the cashew combination out onto the ready baking tray and unfold it into a skinny slab with the spatula, then put aside to chill. Return the saucepan to the range (no want to scrub it).
- Add the remaining 145 g butter to the reserved saucepan and soften it over low warmth. Scrape the melted butter into a big bowl. Add the remaining 220 g brown sugar and whisk vigorously till the combination is easy, thick, and satiny, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs one by one, whisking completely after every addition, then proceed to whisk till the combination is totally easy and barely pale, about 30 seconds. Whisk within the vanilla, then add the flour and kosher salt and whisk vigorously till the batter could be very easy and thick, about 30 seconds.
- Scrape half of the batter into the ready pan and easy it into a good layer with the spatula, working all of it the best way to the perimeters and corners. Break about half of the cooled slab of toffee-covered cashews into small clusters along with your fingertips, then scatter the clusters evenly over the floor of the batter. (Relying on how completely you cooked the combination, the slab could also be brittle or pliable—both method is ok.) Dollop the remaining batter on high, then easy it into a good layer with the spatula. Break the remaining slab into clusters and scatter throughout the floor, then sprinkle with flaky salt (if utilizing).
- Bake till the floor of the blondies is deep golden brown and agency to the contact, 30 to 35 minutes. Let the blondies cool fully within the pan, then use the foil to raise them out of the pan and switch to a reducing board. Slice with a serrated knife right into a 4-by-4 grid to make 16 blondies.
Notes
• Non-compulsory improve: In case your salted roasted cashews are on the paler aspect, toast them to additional develop the flavour. Place the nuts on a baking tray and toast till they’re deep golden brown and aromatic, 7 to 10 minutes, tossing midway via. Allow them to cool fully.
• Potential pitfall: If the toffee combination heats too rapidly or is not stirred consistently, the butter could separate out and pool within the saucepan. If this occurs, take away the saucepan from the warmth, add a tablespoon of water, and stir vigorously to dissolve a few of the toffee and convey the combination again collectively. Return the saucepan to the warmth and proceed to cook dinner.
• The blondies will be made forward. They are going to hold for as much as 4 days saved in hermetic at room temperature. They can be frozen for as much as 1 month.
• The recipe will be doubled. Line a 33 × 23cm baking tray, ideally steel, with foil and butter as directed. Double the entire ingredient portions and proceed with the recipe as written, however use a big saucepan for making the toffee-covered cashews. Word that you’ll have to lengthen the bake time as a result of bigger quantity of batter, so hold an eye fixed out for the given indicators.
• The recipe will be made gluten free by changing the all-purpose flour with an equal quantity of your most popular gluten-free flour mix and bake as directed.
• The blondies will be even be baked in a 23cm baking tray that has been lined with foil and buttered. The bake time might be about the identical.
Photos and recipes from What’s for Dessert by Claire Saffitz, pictures by Jenny Huang. Murdoch Books (RRP $55.00).
