Ground Cherry Blondies: Made With Spelt And Coconut Flour
Squidgy ground cherry blondies with a nice crisp top. This recipe uses a mix of wholemeal spelt flour and coconut flour, though you can sub the spelt for gluten-free if needed. Surprise friends at your next potluck with a tray of these delicious blondies.
I’m always looking for new ways with ground cherries. I’m happy to report that these blondies are a jolly good way to use them.
What Are Ground Cherries?
Ground cherries (Physalis pruinosa) are a small round golden fruit enclosed in a papery husk. Also known as husk tomatoes, they’re a type of physalis similar to cape gooseberry.
They’re not as sharp, however and have a flavour akin to pineapple. Tasty eaten raw, they also work well in bakes. They make a particularly good crumble.
Physalis belong to the nightshade family, which includes tomatoes, peppers and aubergines. They’re the easiest physalis to grow outdoors in the British climate. As they tend to self-seed we get to enjoy them most years.
The fruits grow on low, sprawling plants and have a distinctive lantern-like husk that surrounds each berry. As the fruits ripen, they fall to the ground, which is one reason they’re called “ground cherries.”
I’m harvesting ground cherries every time I get the chance these days. It’s not an easy job as they’re ready only when they’ve fallen to the ground and they do this over a period of several weeks.
Now the days have drawn in, I can’t get to our plot very often, so many of them are rotting in situ. Harvesting generally means I gingerly pick up what look like the recently fallen and hope that I don’t get a slimy mess or a handful of slugs.
Because we’ve had a lot of dry weather recently, this task has been made easier and I’ve managed to accumulate a tidy number.
Ground Cherry Blondies
This is the second batch of blondies I’ve made using ground cherries. The first were in far too small a tin, so neither the dough nor the ground cherries got much in the way of baking and ended up being almost unappetising.
Thankfully, neither CT nor I are easily put off by raw cake dough. Anyway, the idea was too good not to try again and this time I sensibly used a larger tin. I took the blondie recipe I made last year and adapted it to use coconut flour and ground cherries.
These ground cherry blondies are not gluten-free, despite the coconut flour. That’s because I’ve also used my wholemeal spelt flour. This is my preferred flour to use for most baking other than bread. However, if you need gluten-free ground cherry blondies, simply swap the spelt flour for a good gluten-free blend.
Thankfully, they turned out well this time. They have a satisfying state of squidginess about them, with a nice crisp top. And they’re just about cooked through, which is what you want in a blondie. Over baked dry blondies are no fun at all.
Suelle at Mainly Baking would approve as these turned out to be about an inch thick. This is what she considers to be the optimum thickness for a brownie.
The coconut compliments the ground cherries which have a hint of pineapple about them. In turn they give a delightful tartness to offset the sweetness that the white chocolate brings to the mixture.
This is a good news story for ground cherries as we now have another way to eat them. Last year I used them to make muffins and an upside down cake. Now I’ve revisited these two recipes, I think I’d better make them again too.
Other Blondie Recipes You Might Like
- Banana blondies with caramelised brazil nuts
- Blondies
- Caramelised blueberry blondies
- Matcha blondies
- Peanut butter blondies
- White chocolate & raspberry blondies
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these ground cherry blondies, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or advice for using these fruit?
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Choclette x
Ground Cherry Blondies. PIN IT.
Ground Cherry Blondies: Made With Spelt And Coconut Flour
Ingredients
- 3 oz unsalted butter (90g)
- 3.5 oz white chocolate (100g) (I used vanillary Green & Black's)
- 6 oz vanilla sugar (180g) use ½ or 1 tsp vanilla extract instead depending on how vanillary your chocolate is
- 2 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
- 4 oz wholemeal flour (whole wheat) (120g) (I used wholemeal spelt)
- 2 oz coconut flour (60g)
- ¼ tsp Himalayan pink rock salt
- 3 oz ground cherries (60g)
Instructions
- Melt the butter and white chocolate in a pan over a gentle heat. Leave to cool slightly whilst you get on with the next stage.3 oz unsalted butter, 3.5 oz white chocolate
- Whisk the sugar and eggs together until the mixture is thick, pale and tripled in volume. Use electric beaters if you have them, as it can be quite tiring).6 oz vanilla sugar, 2 large eggs
- Gently stir in the chocolate mixture.
- Sift in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.4 oz wholemeal flour (whole wheat), 2 oz coconut flour, ¼ tsp Himalayan pink rock salt
- Add the ground cherries and stir again.3 oz ground cherries
- Pour into a buttered 20 cm x 25 cm baking tin and bake at 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4) for 20 minutes.
- Leave to cool then cut into 12 squares.
Bridgett – the coconut flour is great for use when baking with either fruit or nuts.
Wendy – rather like your idea of cherry powder, I could definitely use some of that.
I’d never heard of ground cherries… at first I thought you meant dried cherries, pulverised to a powder! 🙂
Great idea to use the cherries in a blondie. The coconut flour sounds like a very appetizing idea as well. I am going to have to keep my eye out for the flour at the stores. I really want to try that!
Celia – it’s a great but underutilised fruit which I’m glad to spread the word about.
Les reves – thank you. Eating the last one right now and it’s still good.
Your blondies look perfectly baked, and I’ve never seen blondies that incorporate fruit. A nice change!
Choc, I’ve never heard of ground cherries before. Thank you! I’m going to look them up now..
Sue – thank you. Very kind of you to think of my blog, much appreciated.
Oxslip – it is a sad fact that much as I’m into low food miles, my blog specialises in something that can never be local!
Kath – oh thank you for reading it and for being so sweet. Wasn’t at all sure if I should have an about page or not and even less sure about what to put on it. Feel rather reassured now.
Chele – I wish we did have a wee patch of garden. We are very lucky to have a bit of someone’s field, but it’s not desperately handy to the house. But you’re right, it’s great to use fresh produce you’ve grown yourself.
I do envy you your wee patch of garden – must be great to bake with food you have grown yourself. These blondies look fab!
I can’t add a comment to your about page, so I am using this post instead. Just to say I like the About Page. I am very impressed by the early start in bread making.
Intriguing. Minimal food miles too, nice!
Hey : )
I love your blog so I gave you an award
http://thesecludedteapartyshhh.blogspot.com/2010/10/well-then-what-week-so-far.html
Have a fab week : )
Miss Sue Flay
x
Lucy & Lila – thank you. I’m tucking into one as I type and I can confirm that it is a good combination.
CityHippy – they are a good permaculture plant – almost grow like a weed, prolific and easy to prepare. Would probably do well down your way.
Rafaella – duck eggs are meant to be better than hens eggs for baking cakes – have a look at my post on duck eggs
http://tinandthyme.uk/search/label/Duck%20Eggs
Carol – thank you
Johanna – they would be just the thing for your backyard. Grown in a pot and the fruit would fall on concrete so easy to harvest, less likely to rot and harder for the slugs to demolish!
CC – and another win – they are tasting even better today.
Bakelady – the ones generally found in supermarkets are cape gooseberries and somewhat different to these. I’ve never tried them in cooking, but don’t see why they wouldn’t work.
Sushma – if you ever do try them, let me know how you get on.
Kath – a very scary thought that, but yes one year on and it’s flown by even faster than previous years 🙁
Aforkful – they work particularly well in crumble.
Dom – do they look like a potato? Feel a bit dubious about making potato cakes, but maybe I should give them a go – with CHOCOLATE of course.
is a ground cherry like a ‘Lincolnshire Oyster’? (a potato)… love the idea of using fallen fruit for food… chocolate scmocolate!
Interesting – have never used ground cherries in baking (or any other kind of cooking, come to that!). I like the idea…
Good Lord, is it ground cherry time again? Is it really a year since you were last making ground cherry cakes? Time flies. These look delicious.
sounds great,must try this..
I’ve often wondered what they were called, I’ve seen them many times in the supermarkets and never knew what to do with them. Now I know.
You had me at “coconut” – looks amazing. Love the sound of ground cherries having a hint of pineapple…sounds like a win-win!
I’ve never heard of ground cherries. They sound interesting but unlikely to be found in our concrete back yard 🙁
Delicioso!
Beijos
Carol
http://cozinhando7.blogspot.com
Thank you for the idea, it is very interesting! And I’ve got a question))) You use duck eggs in your recipes. It is, because they are tasty? In Russia we put hen eggs in different dishes.
I had to look up ground cherry too. I’ve never heard of them, but tasting like a cape gooseberry- I’d love to try it.
Looks good.
Lovely sounding combination & they look fab too!
Thanks Gillian, cherries should not be confused with ground cherries – they’re nothing like each other really except for the size. These are a type of physalis similar to, but not the same as cape gooseberry.
Lucy – I think you’re right, blondies are indeed addictive, but then so are brownies.
Liz, sorry about the confusion, I’ve now put the latin name on the post. These are similar to cape gooseberry but not the same – different taste, different colour. Also known as cossack pineapple. Easy to grow and will often self seed.
Ananda – cherries and dark chocolate are very nice, but these aren’t true cherries.
This osunds like new and great combination though cherries with dark chocolate is my fav, curious to try it a try
Ground cherries? – I’m thinking what’s a ground cherry? – a mushroom? a cherry that’s fallen to the ground? something wild and foraged I’ve never heard of? So I googled it – thank the Lord – you mean physalis!
phew… so now I know how scrummy these must be…
These look delicious – I love blondies and the idea of adding the ground cherries. I have a feeling the blondies are quite addictive 🙂
These look wonderful – Great combination!
Nice combo Choclette. I love cherries in chocolate but have never thought of ground cherries; only dried cherries.