Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

Preheat oven to fan oven 160°C /180°C/350°F/Gas 4

Make the blondies: put the butter into a microwave safe jug or bowl and use the microwave to melt the butter. Do this in 15 second bursts, stirring between each burst. This should take 30 – 60 seconds depending on how cold the butter is and the power of your microwave. Alternatively, melt the butter in a saucepan over a moderate heat. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, put the sugars, eggs, vanilla extract/paste and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until thick and creamy. This will take around 3 minutes.

When the eggs and sugar mix is ready, slowly pour in the melted butter, at the side of the dish, and beat until completely incorporated.

Put a sieve over the bowl, add the flour and sift directly over the cake batter.

Fold until nearly mixed in and add the lemon zest and poppyseeds.

Fold in but be careful not to over-mix at this stage.

Transfer to your lined baking tin and level the surface, making sure the cake batter goes all the way into the corners.

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 soft centre.

While the blondies are baking, make the drizzle: heat the water and caster sugar in a saucepan over a moderately low heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Take off the heat and add the lemon juice. The syrup is now ready.

Drizzle the hot, cooked blondies with the syrup: as soon as the blondies come out of the oven, spoon the syrup over, trying to let the middle absorb it as well as the sides.

Leave the blondies to cool in the tin for 30 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Leave to cool in the tin for around 30 minutes and then transfer, in the baking parchment, to a cooling rack.

Finally, make the lemon icing: juice the lemon and put the juice through a sieve to ensure there are no bits or pips.

Add to the icing sugar and mix to a thick paste. Beat vigorously ensuring that there are no lumps.

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.

Spread to level over the surface and liberally scatter with poppyseeds.

Leave the icing to set for a couple of hours and then slice into 9 or 16 squares.