These fudgy lemon blondies are rich, soft, chewy flavoured with a mix of white and brown sugar, lemon zest and topped with a lemon glaze.
If you like brownies...you will definitely like these fudgy lemon blondies or blonde brownies.
This particular recipe is a riff on my favourite brownie recipe. What makes a blondie different from a brownie? Well, the first big difference is the distinct lack of chocolate in the actual batter. The next is that blondies are usually sweetened with brown sugar - this adds notes of caramel and butterscotch and adds moisture and chewiness.
I found that a 50-50 mix of white and brown sugars are the perfect blend for the added lemon zest and lemon flavour for this particular recipe. For flour - I kept the amount of flour almost the same, and to account for the loss of cocoa powder, I added cornflour. The cornflour also lightens the flour, so that the result is a fudgy blondie and not a cakey one.
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What You Need for this Recipe
Equipment
Blondies and/or brownies don't really require any special equipment. I use a 9"x9" (22cm x 22cm) square cake tin, alternatively an 8-inch square tin or a slice pan (27cm x 18cm - 11"x7").
A kitchen scale is essential for this recipe. Especially in the weighing of the flour. Even a 30-gram difference turns this blondie from a blondie bar to a cakey blondie. Which is even more important if making a small batch.
Ingredients
These blondies require:
- Butter, salted butter in particular is what I used. I prefer baking with butter instead of margarine. Butter is always better!
- Caster or granulated sugar and brown sugar for sweetness. This mix, in my opinion, gives the best combination of flavour and fudginess, particularly with lemon.
- Lemon zest and lemon juice to give a delightful lemon flavour.
- Vanilla extract is to baking what salt is to seasoning savour dishes. Use it. It makes it better.
- Salt – if using salted butter, you can skip the salt.
- Eggs – this recipe calls for 4 eggs. It’s the perfect amount of eggs. I prefer free-range.
- Flour – just use plain or standard grade flour. I haven't tried this recipe with gluten-free flour, however, I have used it in my brownie recipe.
- Cornflour/cornstarch - adds lightness to the blondie. I've tried the recipe using only flour, and the blondies come out more cakey than fudgy. Corn starch is known as cornflour in the UK and some other commonwealth countries.
- Icing sugar and lemon juice for the glaze.
Refer to recipe for quantities.
Making the Lemon Blondies with Lemon Glaze
Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-assisted.
Step 2 - Grease and line a 9"x9" (22cm x 22cm) cake or brownie tin with baking paper. Make sure that the baking paper reaches up over the edges of the tin for easy removal of the brownie post-baking.
Step 3 - Melt the butter in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave.
Step 4 - Add in all the sugar and whisk to combine. Then pop the butter-sugar mixture back into the microwave for 30 seconds, whisk again and repeat 1-2 times. When you are done the sugar will have dissolved into the butter, and the mixture will have thickened. Allow to butter mixture to cool a bit.
Step 5 - Add the eggs, lemon juice and vanilla extract into the cooled butter mixture and whisk vigorously for at least 2 minutes with each addition. The butter-sugar-egg mixture will become lighter in colour. Alternatively, you can beat the mixture using a hand-held electric beater for a minute. This step is crucial in obtaining the crackly blondie top.
Step 6 - Add in the flour, cornflour, and lemon zest, mix until combined and spoon into the prepared tin. Knock the tin on the counter 3 to 4 times to knock out air bubbles.
Step 7 - Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the blondie has just set. This will be dependent on your oven.
Step 8 - Allow the blondie to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before lifting it out using the baking paper to cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 9 - Whisk together the icing sugar and lemon juice until you have a medium-thick pouring consistency to make the glaze. Drizzle over the cooled blondie. Slice into 16 to 25 pieces and enjoy!
Pro Tips for this Recipe
A scale is crucial for this recipe - a change of even 30 grams (3 tablespoons) completely changes the consistency of the lemon blondie.
Give the brownie tin a good bash on the kitchen counter to dislodge all of the air bubbles in the batter.
Use a sling method when lining the brownie pan, this allows for easy removal when the blondie is ready to be removed from the pan (see the step 6 photograph).
The temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. For convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted, or air-fryers, the temperature must be reduced by 20°C/25°F.
For baking, make sure the oven is fully preheated, and that the rack is in the middle of the oven. Open the oven as little as possible. For best baking results use an oven thermometer.
Remember that all ovens work slightly differently and bake times may need to be adjusted for your specific oven.
Substitutions / Variations
Some great additions to the lemon blondies:
- A cup of fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries (do not defrost the berries before baking, this may increase the bake time by 5 minutes).
- A cup of white chocolate chips or chunks
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds
Storage
These blondies can be stored at room temperature in an air-tight container for 2 to 3 days.
However, these blondies also freeze really well. Just make sure to wrap them in tin/aluminium foil before placing them into an air-tight container. They can keep in the freezer for 3 months.
Blondies FAQ
Yes. Blondies have a soft, chewy and almost gooey centre once baked and cooled.
Blondies should be fairly dense, moist, soft and chewy in the middle.
No. Not all blondie recipes contain white chocolate. The base of the blondie flavour comes from the brown sugar used
Historically blondies or blondie bars have existed for a full decade before brownies came on the scene.
Brownies are typically fudgy, chewy and have an intense chocolate flavour, while blondies do not contain chocolate but have notes of butterscotch and caramel - which come from the brown sugar used in the recipe.
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📖 Recipe
Fudgy Lemon Blondies
Ingredients
Blondie
- 200 grams butter (melted)
- 200 grams white sugar (caster/granulated)
- 200 grams light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 1-2 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 4 eggs (large)
- 40 grams cornstarch
- 120 grams plain flour (standard grade or all-purpose flour)
Lemon Glaze (Optional)
- 60 grams icing sugar (powdered/confectioner's)
- 1½ tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-assisted.
- Grease and line a 9"x9" (22cm x 22cm) cake or brownie tin with baking paper. Make sure that the baking paper reaches up over the edges of the tin for easy removal of the brownie post-baking.
- Melt the butter in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave.
- Add in all the sugar and whisk to combine. Then pop the butter-sugar mixture back into the microwave for 30 seconds, whisk again and repeat 1-2 times. When you are done the sugar will have dissolved into the butter, and the mixture will have thickened. Allow to butter mixture to cool a bit.
- Add the eggs, lemon juice and vanilla extract into the cooled butter mixture and whisk vigorously for at least 2 minutes with each addition. The butter-sugar-egg mixture will become lighter in colour. Alternatively, you can beat the mixture using a hand-held electric beater for a minute. This step is crucial in obtaining the crackly blondie top.
- Add in the flour, cornflour, and lemon zest, mix until combined and spoon into the prepared tin. Knock the tin on the counter 3 to 4 times to knock out air bubbles.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the blondie has just set. This will be dependent on your oven.
- Allow the blondie to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before lifting it out using the baking paper to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Whisk together the icing sugar and lemon juice until you have a medium-thick pouring consistency to make the glaze. Drizzle over the cooled blondie. Slice into 16 to 25 pieces and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate. If scaling the recipe remember to scale your cook and bakeware accordingly. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs,I earn from qualifying purchases.
Pay says
How much corn flour
It is not listed in the ingredients
Please reply via email
Mary-Lou says
Hi,
The recipe calls for 40 grams of cornstarch, which is also known as cornflour here in New Zealand/Australia and the UK. Have sent you a mail as well.
Regards
Erin says
I followed your recipe to the letter and they came out beautifully. Absolutely delicious! Thank you
Mary-Lou says
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this great feedback! They make my day every single time!