These blondies have all the flavour of fruitcake, but they take just a fraction of the time to make. Soaking the fruit and nuts in rum gives them a subtle boozy flavour without the need to soak the finished product in spirits for a month.
- Prep time 35 minutes
- Total time 4 hours & 30 minutes
Ingredients
Method
In saucepan, combine cherries, mixed peel, walnuts, raisins and rum; cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until warm, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand for 2 hours.
In large bowl, beat 1 cup of the butter with brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Beat in vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, salt and cloves; stir into butter mixture in 2 additions. Fold in cherry mixture.
Scrape into parchment paper–lined 13- x 9-inch (3.5 L) cake pan, smoothing top. Bake in 325°F (160°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean with a few moist crumbs clinging, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely in pan.
While blondies are cooling, in bowl, beat remaining butter with rum extract. Beat in icing sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Spread over blondies. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or wrap and freeze for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Lift out onto cutting board; cut into squares.
Tip from the Test Kitchen: Rum extract gives the icing its warm, rich flavour. Look for it in the spice and extracts section of your grocery store.
Makes about 48 squares.
Nutritional facts per square: about
- Fibre 1 g
- Sodium 66 mg
- Sugars 22 g
- Protein 2 g
- Calories 181.0
- Total fat 8 g
- Potassium 59 mg
- Cholesterol 31 mg
- Saturated fat 4 g
- Total carbohydrate 27 g
%RDI
- Iron 4.0
- Folate 6.0
- Vitamin A 6.0
