Baklava Muffins

I don't celebrate Easter at all - I mean, I do in the sense that there are usually Mini Eggs in the house around this time of year, but that's where the festivity ends. I spent the long weekend in Red Deer catching up with my mom (and sister, on the phone) and seeing my friends. There was shopping and dog-walking and Moxie's and beer pong. Classic.




After supper last night (roasted duck and sweet potato galettes), we whipped up these bad boys before watching the new Mad Men. Jon Hamm and warm muffins: a perfect end to a really, really nice weekend.

[I'll apologise in advance: this recipe is in metric, and I haven't converted it. But you could apply the filling idea to any plain muffin recipe you want.]

Baklava Muffins

Adapted from Nigella Lawson's recipe in How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking

Makes 12

Filling

100g chopped walnuts
75g brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
45g butter, melted

Muffins 

210g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
75g sugar
1 egg
45g unsalted butter, melted
250ml buttermilk (or 175g plain yoghurt and 75g milk) 

On Top 

Runny honey for drizzling (you may need to warm it up a bit)

Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C).

In a small bowl, combine all the filling ingredients and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter and buttermilk/yogurt & milk.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid. Mix gently and only until barely combined - overmixing will make the muffins dense and chewy. Line a muffin tin with papers; fill them one-third full, add about a tablespoon of filling, then cover with more muffin mixture until two-thirds full.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean from one of the centres. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack and drizzle them with honey.