Dunno ‘bout you but when we’ve got nothing better to do, we love pondering our navels, then asking the universe all manner of weighty questions. Like, what’s a Clootie Dumpling? Why did the Imam faint? How did the duck get cold and the dick cop its spots? When’s a banger a snag and a snag a banger? You know – real Meaning of Life stuff. And generally the Universe just tells us to ‘go Google it’, because even the Universe can be lazy. 

One thing we’ve always wondered is where blondies got their name… and we’re pretty sure Debbie Harry was not involved. Don’t know who she is? Get Googling. Confusingly, there’s a school of thought that the original brownies were baked without chocolate and were more like what we call Blondies today, except they were called Brownies. The American writer Fannie Farmer published the first brownie recipe, then went on to publish a blondie recipe too in 1906… which she also called Brownies. The name Blondies for, well, Blondies, a rich slice with a vanilla-ry profile, didn’t come about until the 1970s. White chocolate chips are an optional add-in. Aargh. Befuddling. The Universe really has it in for us sometimes. 

No matter. One can always bake. Our lemony, white chocolate-y interpretation of the Blondie/Brownie gets baked onto a buttery shortcrust base, as if it wasn’t rich enough already. Serve it cut into small squares, or whatever your preferred shape is (triangles, diamonds…), ideally with a stiff coffee or tea to cut the butter and what have you. These should probably more correctly be called a ‘White Chocolate Brownie Slice’, but we’re so profoundly confused by the whole definition thing now that we don’t really care any more. They taste great. They’re probably not good for you. Add them to your repertoire. Just don’t ask the Universe about them. It would not approve. 

MAKES ABOUT 16 PIECES

160g plain flour

50g icing sugar

125g cold unsalted butter, chopped

Filling

165g unsalted butter

200g white chocolate, chopped

200g caster sugar

3 large eggs

finely grated zest of 3 lemons

185g (1¼ cups) plain flour, sifted

icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Lightly grease the sides of a 20 x 20cm square cake tin, then lightly dust with flour. Line the base with baking paper.

Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Tip the mixture into the lined tin, then press it evenly and firmly over the base. Bake for 20 minutes or until set and light golden. 

Meanwhile, melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, taking care not to let it get too hot or the chocolate might seize. Remove from the heat, stir until smooth, then cool slightly. Combine the sugar, eggs and lemon zest in a large bowl then, using electric beaters, whisk until thick and pale. Gently stir in the butter mixture, then, using a large metal spoon, fold in the flour. Pour the mixture into the tin, smoothing the top even. Bake for 45 minutes or until the middle is set. Cool in the tin on a wire rack, then remove the blondie from the tin and cut into pieces. Dust with icing sugar to serve.