Thursday 1 November 2007

Baklava Muffins

...these taste so good: gooey, crunchy, soft and filling; sticky buns for the slapdash cook - Nigella Lawson

The verdict:


I must have been feeling very slapdash the day I made these because everything just felt right.

Unusual or substituted ingredients: The recipe asked for demerera sugar but I was all out so I just used plain raw sugar.


The wonder of these muffins is that you make a mixture of chopped walnuts, demerera or raw sugar and cinnamon which will later make a kind of filling. I struggled not to eat too much of this mixture myself.

Special utensils or cookware: Just a muffin pan and muffin papers. Sadly, I ran out of all the muffin papers I needed. Who knew you would ever run out of muffin papers when they come in a pack of 200?


After you've made the plain muffin mixture, you half fill a cup, add the filling (Yum!) then add more mixture. Finally, top it off with a sprinkling of the remaining filling.


And yes, I did have some filling left. I hadn't eaten ALL of it.

Then bake.


Repeatability: I can see myself making these many, many times.


Sauciness: Given that baklava is one my personal favourite middle eastern desserts, I think it's pure genius to replicate the idea in muffins. And the true, saucy joy? You pour honey over them at the end of the baking, while they're still warm! Finger licking sticky goodness.



Overall pleasure level: 9 out of 10 for me. Near perfection. I should have got a photo of the inside of them, where the nuts and sugar make a river of sweet, crunchy delight that shows up when you bite into them. Wonderful.