Balkan Kadaif Nests with Walnut Cream and Lemon Honey Syrup 🍯✨

Description

Balkan Kadaif Nests with Walnut Cream and Lemon Honey Syrup are crisp golden pastry nests filled with fragrant walnut cream, baked until crunchy, then finished with warm lemon honey syrup and a spoon of cool kajmak cream. They feel festive, elegant, and deeply Balkan, with the crunch of kadaif, the richness of walnuts, and the glossy comfort of syrup.
‌
Hook ✨
‌
Crisp kadaif pastry, walnut cream, lemon honey syrup, cinnamon, butter, and kajmak turn into golden Balkan dessert nests made for a premium sweet table. 🍯

Ingredients

• Kadaif nests 🍯
• ‌
• 🥠 250 g kadaif pastry, gently loosened (8.8 oz)
• 🧈 90 g butter, melted (6½ tbsp / 3.2 oz)
• 🌰 170 g walnuts, finely chopped (1½ cups / 6 oz)
• 🍯 35 g honey (1½ tbsp / 1.2 oz)
• 🥛 80 g kajmak, or mascarpone as substitute (⅓ cup / 2.8 oz)
• 🌿 5 ml vanilla extract (1 tsp / 0.17 fl oz)
• 🌿 2 g ground cinnamon (1 tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🧂 1 tiny pinch fine sea salt
• ‌
• Lemon honey syrup 🍋
• ‌
• 💧 220 ml water (scant 1 cup / 7.4 fl oz)
• 🍬 140 g sugar (⅔ cup / 4.9 oz)
• 🍯 70 g honey (3 tbsp / 2.5 oz)
• 🍋 30 ml lemon juice (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🍋 3 wide lemon peel strips
• 🌿 5 ml vanilla extract (1 tsp / 0.17 fl oz)
• ‌
• Kajmak cream finish ✨
• ‌
• 🥛 120 g kajmak, mascarpone, or thick cream cheese (½ cup / 4.2 oz)
• 🥛 80 g Greek yogurt (⅓ cup / 2.8 oz)
• 🍯 15 g honey (2 tsp / 0.5 oz)
• 🍋 3 g lemon zest (1 tsp / 0.1 oz)
• ‌
• To serve 🌰
• ‌
• 🌰 30 g chopped walnuts (¼ cup / 1 oz)
• 🌿 Small pinch of cinnamon
• 🍋 Extra lemon zest
• 🍯 15 g honey for drizzling (2 tsp / 0.5 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Make the syrup 🍋
2. ‌
3. Add water, sugar, honey, lemon juice, lemon peel, and vanilla to a small pot. Simmer for 8 min, then remove from the heat and cool for 15 min. The syrup should be warm, glossy, and lightly lemony.
4. ‌
5. 2️⃣ Prepare the walnut cream 🌰
6. ‌
7. Mix walnuts, honey, kajmak, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl for 1 min, until thick, fragrant, and slightly sticky.
8. ‌
9. 3️⃣ Shape the nests 🥠
10. ‌
11. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Brush a 12-cup muffin tin with a little melted butter. Toss the kadaif pastry gently with the remaining melted butter until evenly coated.
12. ‌
13. 4️⃣ Fill the tin ✨
14. ‌
15. Press small handfuls of buttered kadaif into each muffin cup, shaping the pastry into nests with a hollow center. Add 1 tbsp walnut cream into each nest. Cover lightly with a few more strands of kadaif.
16. ‌
17. 5️⃣ Bake golden 🔥
18. ‌
19. Bake for 24 min, until the nests are deep golden, crisp on the edges, and fragrant. Let them sit in the tin for 5 min before removing carefully.
20. ‌
21. 6️⃣ Soak lightly 🍯
22. ‌
23. Spoon warm lemon honey syrup over the hot nests, about 1½ tbsp per nest. Let them rest for 20 min so the syrup settles while the edges stay crisp.
24. ‌
25. 7️⃣ Make the kajmak cream 🥛
26. ‌
27. Mix kajmak, Greek yogurt, honey, and lemon zest until smooth. Chill for 10 min while the nests absorb the syrup.
28. ‌
29. 8️⃣ Finish and serve 🌰
30. ‌
31. Top each kadaif nest with a small spoon of kajmak cream, chopped walnuts, cinnamon, lemon zest, and a thin honey drizzle. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Total Time

⏱ Prep: 22 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 32 min
🛋 Rest: 45 min
⏰ Total: 99 min

Back to full recipe