Sourdough Pumpkin Blondies (Chai Spiced, With Pecans and White Chocolate)
Chewy, fudgy sourdough pumpkin blondies made with 100g of discard, brown butter and warm chai spice. Toasted pecans and white chocolate on top, in one 23cm (9-inch) pan.
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Light-coloured saucepan (so you can see the butter browning)
- Kitchen paper
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- 100 g pecans roughly chopped
- 130 g canned pumpkin puree blotted to about 100g
- 140 g unsalted butter
- 220 g dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 100 g sourdough discard 100% hydration
- 170 g all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Chai Spice Blend (replace with 2½ teaspoon of pre-made mix):
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Other:
- 100 g white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
- Pinch of flaky sea salt
Instructions
Prep
- Toast the pecans in a dry frying pan for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant and slightly darker. Take them out of the pan immediately to prevent burning and leave them to cool down. You need 80g for the batter and 20g for the top.
- Blot the pumpkin puree. Spread the 130g of puree on a plate lined with kitchen paper, lay more paper on top and press down. Swap the paper and repeat until the puree weighs about 100g. This is the step that stops the blondies turning out cakey.
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line the pan with baking paper, leaving an overhang on two sides so you can lift the blondies out.
Brown the butter
- Melt the butter in a light-coloured saucepan over a medium heat, stirring. It will foam, then crackle, then go quiet. After 5-8 minutes golden-brown flecks will appear on the bottom of the pan and it will smell nutty. Pour everything, flecks included, into a large bowl. Leave it for 10 minutes, until warm rather than hot. Too hot and it will melt the white chocolate and scramble the egg.
Make the batter
- Whisk the sugar into the butter for 1 minute, until glossy and thick. This is where the crackly top starts.
- Whisk in the egg and yolk until paler and thick, then the vanilla, discard and blotted puree until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, fine sea salt and all the chai spices. Tip it onto the wet mixture and fold with a spatula until a few streaks of flour remain.
- Fold in 80g of the pecans and 80g of the white chocolate. The batter will be thick, like a soft cookie dough.
Bake
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan with a damp spatula, pushing it into the corners. Scatter over the remaining pecans and white chocolate, press in lightly and finish with the flaky sea salt.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, checking from 28 minutes. The edges should be set and golden, the top crackly and the centre barely set with a slight wobble. A skewer should come out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
Cool and cut
- Cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Lift out using the baking paper onto a wire rack and cool for at least 1 hour more.
- Chill for 30 minutes, then cut into 16 squares with a sharp knife, wiping it clean and warming it in hot water between cuts.
Notes
On the brown butter: 140g of butter browns down to about 115g. That's the water cooking off, so don't try to start with less.
On the discard: weigh it rather than measuring by volume. Thick, unfed discard at 100% hydration is what the recipe is balanced for.
Nutrition
Calories: 248kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 3gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 119mgPotassium: 100mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 1520IUVitamin C: 0.5mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 1mg
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