Greek Bird’s Nest Cupcakes: The Birds and the Bees

My Greek bird’s nest cupcakes are all about honey. They are an extremely dense, honey soaked cake topped with a crunchy, honey soaked Greek bird’s nest cupcake topper. If you love honey and more specifically love Greek desserts like baklava, you’ll adore these cupcakes. The Greek bird’s nest cupcakes are not for you if you can only handle honey in moderation.

I can eat honey by the spoonful, so these cupcakes were perfect for me! The only complaint honey lovers had about them was that it was really hard to eat the topper with the cake. You had to remove the topper and eat it separately. I could have perhaps stuck them together with some frosting, but with all the honey syrup, any frosting at all would have been overkill.

The Greek Bird’s Nest Cupcake Recipe

I got the cake recipe by converting an amazing honey almond cake recipe on Poppalina to cupcakes. Here is the recipe with my modifications:

Makes 16 cupcakes

• 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 C sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 C semolina flour
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 C ground almonds

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
3. Fold in semolina flour, cinnamon, and ground almonds.
4. Fill cupcake wrappers 3/4 full.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. As stated on Popillina, “they will be heavy and not a bit springy and that’s a good thing.”

The Honey Syrup Recipe

The honey syrup that I used to top both the cake and the bird’s nests also came from Poppalina’s recipe. The only change that I would make if I made it again would be to add either a little lemon zest or some lemon juice to the recipe. One of my regular tasters is half Greek and he thought that it really needed the lemon to taste more authentic.

• 2 C honey (I used Greek honey since I saw some at the store. However, any honey you like would do.)
• 1 C water
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 cardamom pods (optional)
• lemon zest to taste (As noted above, I didn’t use the lemon zest, but I think it would be a nice touch.)

1. Put all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Simmer for 10-20 minutes.

Putting the Cupcakes Together

1. Poke lots of holes in all the cupcakes (you can use a toothpick or a fork or anything you have handy) and drizzle the hot syrup over the cupcakes.
2. Wait a minute or so for it to absorb and then do it again.
3. Continue letting the syrup absorb and adding more about 3 or 4 times.
4. Put the bird’s nests on top of the cupcakes.
5. Drizzle syrup over the bird’s nests so that they are completely covered in the honey.

You can eat the cupcakes right away while the syrup is warm, but be sure to save some to eat later. The cupcakes get better and better the longer the syrup has to absorb into them. They were still tasty a week after I made them.

Cupcake Hero

I am entering these cupcakes into this month’s Cupcake Hero. The theme is Earth Day. How do these cupcakes fit the theme? I’m stretching here, but:

Birds and bees, nests and honey,
Are featured in these cupcakes – and not just to be yummy.
They are important to the Earth, so let’s care for them well,
And important to my cupcakes, they taste so swell!
Happy Earth Day to all, a few days too late.
And enjoy Cupcake Hero – what cupcake’s on your plate?