BATICA BLONDIES

by EMMA DINIZ RYAN

INGREDIENTS

85g unsalted butter 85g coconut oil 150g light brown sugar 50g granulated sugar 100g plain flour 100g fine semolina 2 eggs 50g desiccated coconut 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla extract ¼ tsp grated nutmeg ½ tsp salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 20cm baking tray with parchment. Start by cutting the butter into small cubes and melting in a saucepan on a medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until browned. When it starts to smell nutty and produces a thick layer of foam, lower the heat and add the coconut oil and stir until melted. Add the light brown sugar and granulated sugar to the pan and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the mixture into a bowl to cool down. While this is cooling, sieve the flour into a bowl and add semolina, nutmeg, salt and baking powder. Once the butter and sugar are no longer hot to the touch, add eggs and beat in with a whisk. Add the coconut and fold to combine together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently fold until everything is fully combined and you can no longer see flecks of flour or semolina. Pour the mixture into the lined tray and bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is set and a skewer comes out clean. This chewy, soft buttery blondie takes influence from the traditional Batica, a Goan cake often eaten during the festive Christmas period. It is a staple Goan dessert made of semolina and coconut and is made with a batter that ferments overnight. Drawing on both my upbringing in the UK and my Goan heritage, this recipe is a nod to Batica in the form of a blondie, the lesser known sibling of the classic chocolate brownie. While Batica is classically fluffy and grainy and blondies are fudgy, this hybrid bake combines the best of both worlds, and the result is rich with coconut flavour, with the bite of desiccated coconut and semolina, the aromatic hit of nutmeg and the soft texture of butter combined with coconut oil.