This month’s daring bakers challenge was Armenian themed. The mandatory component was to prepare either nazook or nutmeg cake. Since in the realm of sweets I generally dislike cakes I went with the nazook – an Armenian pastry filled with vanilla and sugar. I printed out the recipe, placed in neatly on the counter and set to work – yet somehow I managed to misread multiple parts of it. Does that ever happen to you? You feel like you’re reading something but then all of a sudden realize you didn’t absorb any information and can’t remember a thing. Well that’s how following this recipe went for me. Guess I must have been in heavy day dreaming mode. What did this lead to? I ended up adding a whole stick of butter to the filling instead of 6 tablespoons, forgot to sift the flour for the filling, didn’t pat down the second dough roll, only added 1/2 teaspoon vanilla instead of a whole teaspoon and way over mixed the filling overall so that it more closely resembled dough rather than damp sand. Oops. Well I wasn’t going to start all over again so I just hoped for the best.
The overall finished product was delicious. Both crispy and smooth at the same time. Not too sweet, but just sweet enough.
- Dough
- 1½ cups all purpose flour, sifted
- 1¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup (1 stick) softened butter (room temperature)
- Filling
- ¾ cup all purpose flour, sifted
- ¾ cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) softened butter (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup ground walnuts
- 1 egg yolk
- For the Dough:
- Place sifted flour in a bowl. Add yeast and mix. Add sour cream and softened butter.
- Using pastry cutter or your fingers work the mixture into a dough.
- Continue to knead for 10 minutes or until dough no longer sticks to the bowl and your hands.
- Place in a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3-5 hours or overnight.
- For the Filling:
- Combine flour, sugar and butter in a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers mix.
- Add vanilla extra and walnuts, mix until filling looks clumpy like damp sand.
- Forming the Nazook:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut dough in half, roll one half into a bowl and place on lightly floured counter. Roll the dough out until it is thin but not transparent.
- Spread half the filling over the dough (as close as possible to edges on the short side, and ½-1 inch away from the edge of the dough on the long side).
- From the long side, slowly start rolling the dough up. Flatten the roll slightly and brush with the egg wash. Use a knife to cut the dough into 10 even pieces.
- Place dough pieces on ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with other dough ball.
- Bake 30 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Allow to cool.
Welcome to Avocado Pesto! Long time foodie and travel enthusiast, I started this blog to share my curious culinary efforts and kitchen endeavors. Here you'll find a smorgasbord of ethnic cuisines and hopefully a few humorous tales too.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
They look really nice, Vicky!! Your subconscious mind must have helped you through so everything ended up delicious
I am jealous now, I should have baked them…
Vicky,your nazook look so delicious and I love yours pictures.
Thanks!
Lol, well for someone who got the process slightly wrong (dw, do it allll the time!),your end result turned out oh-so-right! Looks fab and delish
I do that all the time! I actually did it with the nutmeg cake!
your finished product looks super tempting and I can’t wait to try them
Thanks! I definitely want to try making the nutmeg cake some time.
I love “not too sweet but just sweet enough” pastries…and don’t get me started on walnuts…I literally have 3 pounds of walnuts at home ready to put in an excellent pastry like this. Gorgeous and tasty!
LOL success often results from a potential disaster!
These look and sound super delicious, thanks.
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OMG I JUST SAW THIS!!!!!! my grandmother makes these too. I LOVE THEM. they look pretty good vicka
Thanks! I was going to ask you if you’ve had them before!
We used to buy these at an Armenian grocery store. I would love to try making them sometime. So glad I stumbled across this recipe
They’re not too difficult to make and it looks like you can put your own spin on the filling!
Very nice !
Kate.
Katy’s Eats recently posted..Bananes gaufrées à la noisette
I’m off to make these today – they look delicious.
one quick note.. using EasyRecipe – any line you begin with an exclamation mark becomes a sub-heading
!Filling would show up in bold with extra spacing.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef recently posted..Noosa
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