Baklava muffins

When I began reading food blogs (many months before starting my own) I noticed that many people had a love/hate relationship with two ladies: Nigella and Martha Stewart. I did not know much about them but soon became a huge fan of both. That is why I chose a recipe by Nigella as the first recipe ever posted on my blog in Portuguese.

That was a long time ago and I felt like baking these muffins again – they are really good. I did not have this blog in English back then, that’s why I post these here right now.

Baklava muffins
from here

Filling:
scant ½ cup (50g) chopped walnuts
1/3 cup (67g) sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted

Muffins:
1 cup + 7 tablespoons (210g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup (50g) sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Topping:
about ½ cup honey

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper baking cups.

Mix all the filling ingredients in a small bowl, set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; add sugar.
In a wide-mouthed measuring cup, whisk the egg, melted butter and buttermilk. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid. Mix lightly and gently, remembering to keep it bumpy – I used a fork to mix it.
Fill the cups 1/3 full, add a scant tablespoon of filling, then cover with more muffin batter until 2/3 full.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a rack. Drizzle with honey.

Makes 12 – each well in my muffin pan holds 1/3 cup batter and I got 11 muffins

Butterscotch marble blondie drops

Watching “Zodiac” this week I found someone as addicted to cookies as I am.

These blondie drops would make Inspector David Toschi very happy, I’m sure. But I’d rather bake them for Detective Malloy. :D

Butterscotch marble blondie drops
from Big Fat Cookies

112g (4 ounces) semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups (280g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (350g) packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof container or the top of a double boiler, and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir the chocolate until it is melted and smooth. Remove from the water and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing. Add the eggs and mix until blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated.

Drop heaping tablespoons (about 3 level tablespoons each) of dough 7.5cm (3in) apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Drizzle about ½ teaspoon of the melted chocolate over the top of each cookie. Using a small sharp knife, gently swirl the chocolate once or twice through the cookie to marbleize it.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel soft but set and edges are lightly browned, about 11 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 24 cookies – I halved the recipe, used 1 ½ tablespoons dough per cookie and got 18

Lime fudge with macadamia nuts

Kitchen tools – those around here crazy about them please raise your hand. :D

Good cookware and tools can really help you get better results in cooking and baking – for instance, I can’t imagine my kitchen without my wonderful Kitchen Aid mixer; for a citrus lover like me, a Microplane zester is a must-have.
And to make it all perfect, gorgeous dinnerware to serve the food prepared with love – even people who don’t like/don’t know how to cook are pleased to eat at a beautifully set table.

Speaking of citrus, I’m still on a lime kick. And I would never have thought it would go so well with macadamias.

Lime fudge with macadamia nuts
slightly adapted from here

3 cups (465g) white chocolate, finely chopped
14-ounce (395g) can sweetened condensed milk
3 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
3 tablespoons lime juice – freshly squeezed is better
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (toasted if desired)

Line a square 20cm (8in) baking pan with foil, extending foil over the edges of pan. Butter foil; set aside.

Stir white chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in a large heavy saucepan over low heat just until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in lime zest and juice. Stir in the macadamia nuts. Spread mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Cover and chill for two hours or until firm. Lift the fudge from pan using edges of foil. Peel off foil and use a knife to cut fudge into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Makes 64 small squares

Rose water meringue hearts

Can you resist heart-shaped food? I thought so - neither can I. It’s like watching a child eating ice cream or a very sticky chocolate cupcake and NOT do anything about it. :D

The recipe comes from DH magazine #36 – the only change I made was to use rosewater instead of orange blossom water.

Rose water meringue hearts
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

150ml egg whites (4-5 egg whites)
220g caster sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon rose water

Preheat the oven to 120ºC/248ºF. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, vinegar and rose water and beat until the mixture is thick and glossy – press a little of the mixture between your fingertips; when you no longer feel the sugar granules, the mixture is ready.
Place a lightly greased 6cm heart shaped cookie cutter on a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper (if using regular baking paper, brush it with oil).
Spoon the meringue mixture inside the cutter and smooth over the top.
Carefully remove the cutter, clean it, brush it again with oil and repeat the process.
Bake for 25 minutes or until crisp, turn the oven off and allow to cool in it for 30 minutes.

Makes 10 – I halved the recipe, used a 5cm (2in) cutter and still got 10

Rice fritters with nigella seeds

The same way one doesn’t need a velvety voice to sing fantastic songs - Dave Faulkner is there to prove it – food doesn’t have to be all fancy and complicated to be good. A simple salad, made with fresh ingredients, can be a wonderful meal. And these fritters, made of leftovers, are delicious snacks.

The original recipe calls for poppy seeds, but since I don’t have them here I used nigella seeds instead - they added a crunchy/earthy/nutty touch to something I ate on a regular basis as a child.

Rice fritters with nigella seeds
adapted from a Brazilian cookbook

2 cups rice, cooked
2 eggs
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coating:
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup nigella seeds
vegetable oil for deep frying

In a bowl, place the rice with the 2 eggs, parmesan, parsley, flour, salt and pepper. Using a fork or a potato masher, smash the ingredients together until well combined.
Take small portions (1 tablespoon) of the mixture and roll into balls.
Place the breadcrumbs in one bowl and mix in the nigella seeds. Place the other 2 eggs in another bowl and lightly beat them.
Dip each ball in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumb mixture and turn to coat.
Heat the oil in a small and deep saucepan over medium-high heat and fry the rice balls, 3 at a time, until evenly golden.
Remove from oil and place on paper towels.

Serve hot.

Makes about 20