Cardamom Brown Butter Blondies//Rhubarb Compôte Swirl//Cream Cheese Swirl//White Chocolate Drizzle
I couldn’t be happier to finally have this oh-so-special recipe shared here! It’s one of my very favourite desserts of all time: Cardamom + Rhubarb Brown Butter Blondies. More specifically, they are: Cardamom + Rhubarb Brown Butter Blondies with a Rhubarb Compôte Swirl, Cream Cheese Swirl, and a White Chocolate Drizzle. This dessert brings together the nutty richness of brown butter, complemented by beautiful freshly ground cardamom which pairs perfectly with the tart sweetness of rhubarb compôte, and the creamy tang of a cream cheese swirl. All topped off with a decadent white chocolate drizzle, each bite is a gorgeous harmony of bright flavours and oh-so-luxurious textures.
These blondies are the perfect summer indulgence, whether you're packing them for a picnic, serving them at a barbecue, or simply savoring them on a sunny afternoon. Plus, they're easy and so fun to make!
I owe credit to Sarah Kieffer for the blondie base, which is essentially her recipe (I just increased the thickness and bake time) – it's truly special. The flavour combination, however, is my own - one that I dreamed up a few years ago and have been making ever since! Sarah's recipe can be found in her book called "100 Cookies"
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Now go roll up your sleeves, and let’s create something truly special!
Recipe:
Makes 1 9 x 13-inch tray
Notes
Using fresh cardamom pods is absolutely essential! It’s ground using a mortar and pestle. The flavour is bolder and infinitely more fragrant that the pre-ground stuff.
Use good quality white chocolate please. My favourite is Green & Blacks vanilla bean white chocolate (it’s organic). Callebaut is good too, and is what I used here (it’s less expensive than the Green & Blacks).
You can use frozen rhubarb for the compote.
Rhubarb Compôte
Ingredients
275 g rhubarb, diced
70 g sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
Instructions
Place rhubarb, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat, lid on, stirring every now and again, for 15 minutes.
Remove lid and simmer for a final 2 minutes to allow any remaining liquid to evaporate.
Stir in the salt, transfer compôte to a small bowl, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Cream Cheese Swirl
Ingredients
115 g cream cheese, room temperature preferably
65 g sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
small pinch of salt
Instructions
Place cream cheese in a medium bowl, and beat on high speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, and beat on high for another 30 seconds.
Leave at room temperature until ready to use.
Brown Butter Cardamom Blondies
Ingredients
345 g butter, any temperature
300 g brown sugar
300 g white sugar
2 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
425 g all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
50 small pods of cardamom (or 40 normal/30 large pods)
3 eggs, cold
6 egg yolks, cold
Instructions
Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking tray and line it with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place 255 g of the butter in a medium sized saucepan. Brown the butter over medium heat. (If you don’t know how to do this: cook, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes, until the butter is a caramel colour and smells nutty.)
Once ready, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat, and whisk in the remaining 90 g of butter.
Whisk in the brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
Leave this aside to cool, while you tend to the remaining ingredients.
Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
Cut open the cardamom pods and finely grind using a mortar and pestle. Whisk into the flour mixture.
Whisk eggs and egg yolks into the butter-sugar mixture. The idea is that the cold eggs will cool the mixture down to room temperature (to avoid waiting for it to come to room temperature naturally).
Pour butter-sugar-egg mixture into the flour mixture. Stir together with a spatula.
Pour the batter into the parchment-lined baking tray. Evenly spread using a spatula.
Dollop the cream cheese mixture overtop.
Dollop the rhubarb compôte overtop.
Create swirls using a butter knife.
Bake for 35-36 minutes, or until the top is golden. If you desire a more cake-like texture, bake for 37-38 minutes. I personally prefer mine on the gooier side (so 35-36 minutes)! The photographed blondies were taken out after 36 minutes.
Remove from oven, and let cool completely in its tin before removing.
White Chocolate Drizzle
Ingredients
85 g white chocolate (I used Callebaut)
Option to add in a little pinch of freshly ground cardamom
Instructions
Place the white chocolate in a clean and heat-proof bowl, set over a saucepan of simmering water. Make sure that the water level is low enough that it doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir every so often until the chocolate is melted. Add the cardamom now if using - I didn’t here, but have before!
Drizzle warm over the cooled blondies.
Place the blondies in the fridge to set/harden the chocolate.
These blondies a great cold from the fridge, semi-chilled, or room-temperature (I prefer some chill on them for a good chew to balance the gooeyness!). Enjoy!
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Beautiful creation! ✨❤️✨