Coffee Blondies with Brown Butter, Chunks of Milk Chocolate and a Coffee Glaze

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If you adore brownies and love coffee cake, then these Coffee Blondies with Brown Butter, Chunks of Milk Chocolate and a Coffee Glaze will be your new coffee cake crush! Melt in the mouth, rich, a little gooey on the inside, oozing with coffee flavour and studded chocolate, they are also topped with a luscious layer of coffee glaze and even more chocolate, grated this time. Chopping the chocolate into different sized chunks adds fabulous texture to the blondies and ensures that you find a number of these nuggets of joy in each and every blondie!

Why use brown butter?

Browning the butter adds a rich, caramelised, nutty unami to these blondies; heavenly served warm with ice cream for dessert but equally, utterly moreish served simply with a cup of tea or coffee.

If you want to skip this step, see recipe for instructions.

How to make Coffee Blondies with Brown Butter, Chunks of Milk Chocolate and a Coffee Glaze

This recipe is based on my Daffodil Blondies – Core Recipe. For further blondie inspiration, please see here.

Collect all your ingredients together and line the baking tin:

In order to guarantee soft and fudgy blondies, it is important to use the correct size tin – in this case it is a 20cm/8inch square tin. If your tin is larger the depth of your cake batter will be less and the blondies will cook more quickly. Equally if the tin is smaller, your cake batter will be deeper and the blondies will cook more slowly.

1. Sit the tin on greaseproof paper making sure the paper is large enough to line the tin, come up the sides and have a little overhang.
2. Cut out the corners of the paper so it will fit easily into the tin
3. Fold the paper from corner to corner so the size of the centre of the paper matches the base of the tin. Slot inside the tin.

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Ingredients for the blondies:

• unsalted butter, in cubes
• instant coffee
• boiling water
• soft brown sugar
• caster sugar
• fine salt
• eggs
• vanilla paste or extract
• plain/all-purpose flour
• milk chocolate cut into a mix of sizes

For the topping –

• milk
• instant coffee
• icing sugar
• unsalted biutter, melted
• sea salt for sprinkling on the top (optional)
• grated chocolate (optional)

Now make these coffee beauties:

1. First, brown the butter: chop the butter into squares and place in a saucepan. Heat over a moderate heat, stirring from time to time, until the butter turns brown. To read more about browning butter, please see here.
2. Pour into a jug so it stops cooking, cools and is ready to pour into the batter.
3. Mix the coffee and water: mix the instant coffee with the boiling water and set aside to cool whilst you make the blondie batter.
4. Make the blondie batter: meanwhile, put the sugars, eggs and salt into a mixing bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until thick and creamy. This will take around 3 minutes.
5. When the eggs and sugar are ready, add the vanilla paste and slowly pour in the melted brown butter and coffee, at the side of the dish. Beat until completely incorporated.
6. Put a sieve over the bowl and add the flour and sift directly over the cake batter.
7. Fold the flour into the batter, until nearly mixed in.
8. Chop the chocolate into varying sizes and fold into the blondie batter.
9. Transfer to your lined baking tin and level the surface, making sure the cake batter goes all the way into the corners.
10. Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 25 – 35 minutes, depending on how squidgy you like the centre to be. (I cook mine for 30 minutes in London.) This gives me a slightly crispy top but a gorgeous slightly gooey centre. The cake will be slightly risen but the centre will feel quite soft. Remember the cake will continue to cook after you have taken it out of the oven. Ovens do vary so make a note of how long it takes to cook your favourite consistency in your oven. Remember the less you cook it, the more gooey it will be and the more you cook it, the more cake like it will be.
11. Leave to cool in the tin for around 30 minutes and then transfer, in the baking parchment, to a cooling rack.

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Make the coffee icing:

1. Mix the coffee with the milk, making sure the coffee has dissolved, and melt the butter. I do this in a microwave, but you could also melt it in a small saucepan.
2. Add the coffee and butter to the icing sugar and mix to a thick paste. Beat vigorously ensuring that there are no lumps.
3. Leave the cake in the baking paper and slot back into the tin – this helps to keep the shape of the icing. Pour the icing on top.
4. Level the icing over the surface and liberally scatter with grated chocolate and a touch of sea salt (if using).
5. Leave the icing to set for a couple of hours and then slice into 9 or 16 squares.

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What is the best way to store blondies?

When you store blondies, it is important to cover them. They keep well for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge. However, if you are storing them in the fridge, remember to take them out to warm up to room temperature before you serve them.

What is the best way to warm blondies?

I adore warm blondies for dessert, served with ice cream. If you have made the blondies in advance and want to warm them up, simply zap them in the microwave for 10 – 20 seconds. The time it takes will depend on the temperature of the blondies to start with (ie have they been in the fridge or not?), the power of the microwave and how hot you actually want them. I like mine warm, but not too hot. I recommend heating them in 10 second bursts, until you are happy with the heat.

If you do not have a microwave, you could warm them in the oven. Cover with foil and place them in an oven preheated to Fan Oven 150°C/170°C/325°F/Gas 3 for 1 – 3 minutes. (Depending on how many you are heating and how hot you want them.) Check them after 1 minute and be careful not to overheat, as you may over cook them.

Can I freeze these blondies?

Yes you can! These blondies freeze well, covered, for up to 3 months.

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.