October 13-14, 2009: Macadamia blondies

With a couple of guests visiting my workplace and making presentations, I thought some more seminar snacks were in order. This recipe for macadamia blondies comes from the now-defunct food blog This Is Vegan Melbourne. It uses silken tofu as a binder and most of the hard work is done in a food processor. It's thick and sticky and it comes out of the oven looking a little ugly, but if you're a fan of macadamias and sweet, sweet caramel then you'll love it. It's best eaten fresh, so make sure you've got a gaggle of appreciative friends, family or co-workers on hand to help out.



Macadamia blondies
(recipe from This Is Vegan Melbourne)

150g silken tofu
1/4 cup soy milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups macadamias, chopped roughly

topping:
1/4 cup Nuttelex
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup macadamias, chopped roughly

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with paper and lightly grease it.

Blend the tofu and soy milk together in a food processor until smooth. Add the oil, sugar and vanilla and blend further until everything is smooth and well-mixed.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt. Stir in the tofu mixture, then fold in the macadamias. The dough will be thick, but you should be able to spread it out into the baking tray. Bake the blondie for 25 minutes.

During the last 5 minutes that the blondie is baking, prepare the topping. Melt the Nuttelex, sugar and maple syrup together in a small saucepan, stirring often. Bring the caramel to boil for one minute, then stir in the nuts and remove it from the heat. When the blondie is ready, pour the topping over them, spread it out evenly, and return the blondie to the oven for another 10 minutes. Allow the blondie to cool completely before slicing and eating.