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THE SWEET LIFE
Una Leonard has become one of Ireland’s most-celebrated bakers - a vision she never imagined when she first began baking from her mother’s kitchen table.
The owner and brains behind Mullingar’s 2210 Patisserie, Una’s delicious creations range from moreish chocolate brownies to show-stopping cakes. Here, she shares her inspiring life story and reveals her baking secrets. Plus, there’s even a recipe for her bakery’s best-selling Lotus Blondies…
DREAMS DO COME TRUE
“Writing a cookbook has always been a dream of mine. I used to always joke: ‘I’ll have a cookbook before I’m 30’ … I’ll be turning 30 this Christmas so perhaps I manifested it! I get a lot of messages on social media from people telling me ‘I’m living their dream job’ or asking for different recipes, so it is lovely to be able to share my world with others and most importantly to be able to give back to the many people who have followed me for years! Now they have all of my secret recipes at their fingertips!”
A STORY WORTH SHARING
“There were times when I didn’t feel like my story was worth sharing. I honestly never realised how bad a time I went through until I started therapy a few years ago. It was only then when I started speaking aloud and telling a stranger about how much I hated myself and my thoughts of suicide that I started to understand the seriousness of the 3-4 years of depression I went through. It remains a tough story to tell and it’s hard for my family to hear about it. I know now that they were just grateful to get a message from my mam at the end of each day, which read ‘we survived another day.’ The understanding and appreciation I have for life now is a world away from that vulnerable girl I was back then.”
THE JOY OF BAKING
“I love everything there is about baking - except maybe for the clean-up and waiting for a bake to cool down! But what’s really special is taking five or six raw ingredients and turning it into something beautiful and tasty that can bring a family or group of people. It completely grounds me and I just get into a flow when I step into a kitchen and start to create.”
INSIDE THE BOOK
“I honestly could have written four cookbooks with all the recipes I have. But I decided to keep the book and recipes simple and focus on the bakes we have available at the bakery and on our online shop which are always in demand. I also wanted to include a gluten-free chapter with some of our most-loved bakes and, of course, some of my mam’s baking recipes. I couldn’t have a cookbook and not include her apple tarts and brown bread!”
MY FAVOURITE RECIPE
“It’s impossible to choose! But in my new book, there is a photo of a sticky toffee pudding where the caramel sauce is dripping and I was thinking about it for weeks. But I think my favourite recipe is my mam’s apple and rhubarb tarts.”
NO KITCHEN SHOULD BE WITHOUT…
“A KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer. I have been using them for YEARS at home and in the bakery. Not only are they super pretty but they last a lifetime. In my opinion, they are the best stand mixer on the market!”
- Makes 12 blondies
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 400g caster sugar
- 150g butter
- 150g white chocolate, broken into pieces
- 210g plain flour
- 2 tablespoon cornflour
- 8 Lotus Biscoff biscuits (crushed)
For the topping:
- 4 tablespoons Lotus Biscoff biscuit spread
- 8 Lotus Biscoff biscuits (whole)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line a 20 x 20cm baking tin with baking parchment.
- Put the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk for about five minutes until light in colour and doubled in volume.
- Place the butter and white chocolate in a separate microwave-safe bowl and melt in the microwave for 30-second intervals until fully melted. Stir at each interval to prevent the chocolate from scorching.
- Add the warm melted butter and chocolate mixture to the whisked eggs and continue to whisk until combined.
- Sift the flour and cornflour together and add to the wet mixture, using a spatula to gently combine. Stir through the crushed Lotus Biscoff biscuits.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Melt the Lotus Biscoff spread slightly in the microwave (20 seconds should do it) and then pour on top, using a knife or skewer to swirl it around. Arrange the whole Lotus biscuits evenly on top and bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the sides of the blondies have set and the centre is still slightly wobbly. Insert a knife into the blondies to check that they are done – the batter on the knife should not be wet but a lot of crumbs should stick to it.
- Allow to cool in the tin. When the blondies have cooled completely, remove from the tin in one piece (this should be easily done by lifting the parchment), place on a board and cut into squares.
- Store the Lotus blondies in an airtight container for up to five days. These can be made in advance and frozen.
- Enjoy reheated, or straight from the container.
Sweet Therapy: The Joy of Baking by Una Leonard is published by Hachette Ireland in hardback and is out now. Pick up your copy at WHSmith, located on the Lower Ground Floor in-store at Arnotts.