Almond Frangipane Blondies

 

If brown sugar Blondies got together with Almond Croissants and had a baby, this delicious Almond Frangipane Blondie bar would be the result!  What you have here is a delicious, dense, chewy blondie with an incredibly moreish and buttery rich almond topping.

I love Blondies, probably even more than I love Brownies.  I also adore almond frangipane, which is the creamy filling you will find tucked into French Almond Croissants. Putting the two things together, in my opinion, is pure and absolute genius!

 

I first saw a video of a recipe similar to this on Instagram. They looked fabulous, but I was not quite sure of the source. Something about it didn't ring true to me.  I was hooked however and did a search to see if I could find another, more reliable looking recipe.

I discovered this almond frangipane blondie recipe on a page called Loaves & Such.  It had quite a few positive reviews in the comments section and so I decided to go with it. In other words, I felt that it was a reliable recipe.  Plus the photos looked amazing.

 

I was not disappointed. The bars turned out to be all that and more!  Amazingly dense and chewy on the bottom. Lovely and almondy on the top.  Altogether quite delicious!  I chose not to sprinkle mine with icing sugar. I thought they were quite sweet enough.

I was very generous with the almonds on top however. Can you ever have too many?  Not when they turn out lovely and golden brown and are topping a lush, rich almond filling!!

There are no flavors other than vanilla and almond in these lovely bars.  The base has a rich and caramel flavor, just like a good blondie should, with just a hint of almond. The topping is full on almond flavors, just like you would expect in an almond croissant without the flakiness.  Altogether these bars are one of the most favorite bars I have baked in a while. You are sure to fall in love with them, I guarantee!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE ALMOND FRANGIPANE BLONDIES

Simple every day baking ingredients.  Prepare to fall in love. There are two very distinct layers.

For the Blondies:

• 3/4 cup (170g) butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 1/4 cups (250g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 1 large free range egg, plus 1 large free range egg yolk
• 1 TBS pure vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• scant tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups (175g) plain all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (25g) ground almonds (almond flour)
• large handful of sliced almonds to top (optional)

 

For the almond Frangipane layer:

• 4 TBS (57g) butter, softened
• 1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar
• 1 large free range egg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2/3 cup (66g) ground almonds (almond flour)\
• pinch of salt

 

HINTS AND TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST ALMOND FRANGIPANE BLONDIES

If you follow these hints and tips you can be ensured of success!

1.  Make sure everything is at room temperature before you can begin. If I know I am going to be baking, I will take my eggs, butter, etc. out of the refrigerator about an hour prior to starting.

2. If your butter is cold, do soften it before using it to cream with the sugar. You can do this by popping it into the microwave and blitzing it on medium for 30 seconds, checking it every 10 seconds.

3. Allow your melted butter to cool until tepid before mixing with the sugar.  You don't want to melt the sugar, as this can mess with the integrity of your bar and affect the chew.

4. Fold in the flour and almonds, don't beat them in. You just want them to be combined.

5. Measure everything carefully. If measuring by weight, use a good quality scale.  (Mine is a Salter.) If you are using cups, spoon your flour  into the cups and then level off with the straight edge of a knife. If you scoop you will end up with more flour than needed for the recipe and they will not be as chewy.

 

HOW TO MAKE ALMOND FRANGIPANE BLONDIES

Incredibly simple. You make the base. You make the topping. You layer them together and bake. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before beginning and you can't go wrong!

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish and line it with baking paper, leaving an overhang to lift it out.

Make the frangipane topping first. Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl until well combined. Whisk in the egg and both extracts to combine.

Whisk in the almonds and salt, mixing everything together well. Set aside.

 

In a medium sized bowl whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together thoroughly. Stir in the egg and egg yolk to combine well together. Whisk in both extracts, the baking powder and salt.

Stir in the flour and almond flour, combining all well together.

Spread the flour mixture into the prepared pan, spreading it out evenly. Top with the frangipane layer, again spreading it out evenly. (This worked best by dropping dollops of it evenly over top and then spreading it out with the back of a metal spoon.)

 

Sprinkle a handful of flaked almonds evenly over top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until the edges are nicely browned and starting to caramelize, and the topping is golden brown.

Leave to cool completely in the pan, then lift out and cut into squares to serve. Store in an airtight container for up to three days, or up to 7 days in the refrigerator.

 

These were lovely and rich and almondy.  The base was dense and moreishly chewy. That frangipane topping was also incredibly moreish. The two together?  Heavenly bliss!  

I took some over to my sister's place to share with my father, and the two of them also really enjoyed these fabulous bars.  If you are an almond fan, you really NEED these in your life!

Are you a fan of the Blondie?  I think I like Blondies better than I like Brownies. Here are a couple more of my favorite Blondie Recipes!

PERFECT BLONDIES -  Seeing the title you  might think it is a bit bold of me to call this bar perfect, but once you bake them you will agree. These are the PERFECT Blondie bar. Dense and fudgy with a deep caramel flavor, that delicious combination of butter, brown sugar, butter and vanilla.  These have the texture of your favorite brownie, combined with the taste of your favorite chocolate chip cookie. Amazingly tasty!

GINGERBREAD BLONDIES - The smell when these are baking is pure and utter bliss . . .  decadently gorgeously divinely gingerbready. The consistency of them when baked . . .  and still warm . . . wonderfully moist and incredibly fudgy, just like you want in a good blondie. Super moist, gently spiced and rich with butterscotch and caramel flavors. In other words, incredibly scrummy yummy. If you like gingerbread you will fall in love with these delicious bars.

Yield: 9 squares

Author: Marie Rayner

Almond Frangipane Blondies

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 1 H & 10 M

Rich, fudgy and almondy. If almond croissants and caramel-like blondies had a baby together, these would be it! Totally scrumptious!

Ingredients

For the Blondies:

• 3/4 cup (170g) butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 1/4 cups (250g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 1 large free range egg, plus 1 large free range egg yolk
• 1 TBS pure vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• scant tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups (175g) plain all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (25g) ground almonds (almond flour)
• large handful of sliced almonds to top (optional)

For the almond Frangipane layer:

• 4 TBS (57g) butter, softened
• 1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar
• 1 large free range egg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2/3 cup (66g) ground almonds (almond flour)\
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish and line it with baking paper, leaving an overhang to lift it out.
2. Make the frangipane topping first. Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl until well combined. Whisk in the egg and both extracts to combine.
3. Whisk in the almonds and salt, mixing everything together well. Set aside.
4. In a medium sized bowl whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together thoroughly. Stir in the egg and egg yolk to combine well together. Whisk in both extracts, the baking powder and salt.
5. Stir in the flour and almond flour, combining all well together.
6. Spread the flour mixture into the prepared pan, spreading it out evenly. Top with the frangipane layer, again spreading it out evenly. (This worked best by dropping dollops of it evenly over top and then spreading it out with the back of a metal spoon.)
7. Sprinkle a handful of flaked almonds evenly over top.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until the edges are nicely browned and starting to caramelize, and the topping is golden brown.
9. Leave to cool completely in the pan, then lift out and cut into squares to serve. Store in an airtight container for up to three days, or up to 7 days in the refrigerator.

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