Apricot & pistachio frangipane blondies

Sweet, golden apricots are such a treasure when summer comes, and I love eating them straight from the fruit bowl, but here they are baked to bring out their juiciness. The fruit can make the blondies a bit more fragile, so take care when dishing them out.

MAKES 12 PREP 20 mins COOK 30 mins EASY V

100g unsalted butter, melted, plus a little extra for the tin

200g light muscovado sugar

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 large egg

120g plain flour

50g pistachios, roughly chopped

1-2 tbsp milk

6 large ripe apricots, halved and stoned

For the frangipane

65g golden caster sugar

80g unsalted butter, softened

1 egg

100g pistachios, ground to crumbs

1 Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and butter and line a rectangular baking tin, approx 20 x 25cm. To make the frangipane, beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy, then add the egg and pistachios.

2 In a bowl, stir together the muscovado sugar, fennel seeds and melted butter with a pinch of salt. Add the egg and stir vigorously, then tip in the flour and half the pistachios and fold until well combined and no streaks remain. Add the milk to loosen.

3 Spoon two-thirds of the batter into the tin and smooth with the back of a metal spoon or spatula, then arrange the apricot halves on top and press into the batter. Dot the frangipane around the batter too, then top with the remaining spoonfuls of batter so that it’s part covering the frangipane and apricots. Scatter over the rest of the pistachios. Bake for 25-30 mins until a skewer comes out with some crumbs that are a little moist, but not raw. Cool completely in the tin, then cut into 12 squares.

PER SERVING 330 kcals • fat 19g • saturates 9g • carbs 33g • sugars 24g • fibre 2g • protein 5g • salt none