As I read back on my previous blondie recipe, it occurred to me that the weather takes a turn for the worse every time I make them. Indeed, it’s raining cats and dogs outside – so much for British summertime – though it’s hard to say whether or not it rains because of blondies. Either way, these blondies are awfully delicious and continue to propagate the exponential growth of my love for ground almonds – they have simply the most wonderful texture.

It can be rather difficult to know just how much coffee to use in baking. For instance, it seems to me that when using coffee in a cake it can prove tricky to impart quite enough flavour to the sponge – hence the general need for syrup or icing. However, when making these blondies, which are nice and dense, it was apparent that they picked the flavour up really well. Luckily, I guessed upon roughly the right quantity of coffee first time. Though, if you’d prefer a stronger coffee taste it might be well advised to add an extra teaspoon. In any case, this recipe is probably a good starting point.

You’ll be sad to hear that not only is my garden underperforming, but my chicken’s eggs have become of such low quality that they’re hardly worth eating. They are too watery for baking, poaching, frying, meringuing (that doesn’t appear to be an accredited verb) and most other methods of egg preparation, with the notable exception of boiling. So, as you will see below, we are back to buying shop-bought eggs, though I shall never again indulge in anything apart from good quality, free-range eggs. Some carnivores do have a heart. Whether or not I am one such carnivore is for you to decide, but remember that it’s best not to say anything if it’ll make me cry! Such a thing would appear most un-British. Then again, perhaps my views are rather anachronistic – it might be the case that the entirety of the British Isles indulges in rather a lot of sobbing these days. I blame Jeremy Kyle. 

Gluten-Free Coffee Blondies

Makes 16

Ingredients:

• 100g butter, salted if possible

• 150g caster sugar, granulated would work too

• 2 eggs

• 2 tsp instant coffee

• 120g ground almonds

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, grease and line a square cake tin roughly 20cmx20cm. Melt the butter in a pan and dissolve the coffee into it. This may take a little perseverance, but it will work, I assure you. Tip the sugar into a mixing bowl and add the butter to it, mix well before cracking in the eggs. Stir thoroughly until the whole mixture is as one. Mix in the ground almonds.

2. Tip the mixture into the cake tin and bake for roughly 20 minutes, until a crust has formed and the entire thing has just about set. Remove it from the oven and allow them to cool a little before cutting into square and serving.

Cost: Ground almonds are a little expensive, though they can often be found on sale or in the reduced aisle. However, such an expense is mitigated by the fact that the recipe is so simple and requires relatively few ingredients. As such, these blondies should set one back roughly £2. Not bad at all!