NIGHTINGALE NEST & BIRD EYE DESSERTS; CRUNCHY, NUTTY, AND ELEGANT KADAYIF DESSERTS

Full recipe for The NIGHTINGALE NEST & BIRD EYE DESSERTS
Ingredients
450 g KADAYIF (*)
625 g butter
¼ cup grapeseed oil (or any thin vegetable oil)
¼ cup (60 g) almonds
¼ cup (30 g) hazelnuts
½ cup (70 g) pistachios
For the syrup:
4 cups sugar
3 cups drinking water
1 slice of lemon
(*) KADAYIF is a traditional, string-like dough that is often used for desserts. It is made with a thin batter that is drizzled on a hot surface through a sieve-like instrument, cooked, softened, and packed.
It is always available in multicultural food markets
Directions
SYRUP
I recommend cook the syrup first as it is used at room temperature.
Place 4 cups of sugar and 3 cups of drinking water into a pot
Bring the mixture to a boil on medium heat
Stir from time to time to completely dissolve the sugar
Once the mixture begins to boil, bring the heat to the medium-low setting, add 1 slice of lemon and simmer the syrup for 10-15 minutes
The juice of the lemon will keep the syrup from crystallizing once it cools
Some of the water will evaporate during boiling and syrup will become viscous
Turn off the heat, set the syrup pot aside and let the syrup cool down to room temperature
PURIFYING THE BUTTER
Regular butter has some milk, proteins, and some food additives that burn during baking and create blackish, unappealing spots on the dessert. Additionally, milk decreases the crunchiness of the dough
So, purifying the butter is necessary for a golden and crunchy dessert
Simply boil the regular butter in a pot and boil on medium heat.
It will melt, boil, froth, and become translucent within 3-5 minutes
Once the butter will have a bright golden colour, filter the butter using a fine sieve and let it cool down to room temperature
When the purified butter has cooled down, add ½ cup of grapeseed oil, mix thoroughly, and set aside
FORMING
THE NIGHTINGALE NEST DESSERT
Use a large and shallow container (or an oven tray) to form the NİGHTİNGALE NESTs
Pour 2-3 tablespoons of purified butter-oil mixture onto the container and coat the Kadayıf strings by gently spreading and detangling them
Separate 10-15 strings of Kadayıf, coat them with butter-oil mixture and wrap them around a shot glass (or a small bottle) to form a NIGHTINGALE NEST
Then, gently remove the glass and place the nest into a baking tray
(!) While shaping the desserts, do not allow the rest of the Kadayıf to dry out
Either cover the strings with damp towel or work fast!!
Once forming is completed, fill each nest with your favourite nuts
Drizzle some butter-oil mixture over each nest
Now they are ready to bake!
FORMING
THE BIRD EYE DESSERT
If you like smaller dessert bites, then you may prefer forming BIRD EYEs
Coat 4-5 Kadayıf string with the purified butter-oil mixture and wrap them around your finger
Then, place them in a baking tray
Once the general shapes are formed, place 1-2 pistachios onto each BIRD EYE
Cover the baking trays for both desserts with parchment paper to prevent the tops from burning while golden-brown the bottom of the desserts
BAKING
In commercial production, these desserts are submerged in butter, so the dough is baked and fried at the same time to achieve an even golden colour and crunchiness
In that technique, the excess butter is drained once the baking is done
I prefer to use less butter and cover the trays during baking to achieve the same result
Bake the desserts in a preheated oven (380 F) for 35-40 minutes so the base of the desserts turns golden-brown
Then, remove the parchment paper and bake for another 5-8 minutes for golden-brown tops
MEETING WITH THE SYRUPS
Let the desserts cool down for 2-5 minutes before drizzling the syrup over them
For a crunchy NIGHTINGALE NEST or BIRD EYE DESSERT, the syrup should be at room temperature while the baked Kadayıf is warm enough to absorb just right amount of syrup
Slowly drizzle the syrup evenly over each piece
Once the syrup is added, the dessert should be served immediately, while it is still crunchy!
Hint for early preparation!
You can pre-bake and keep the NESTs and BIRD EYEs for a couple of weeks before adding the syrup… When you want to make the dessert, just reheat, add the syrup and serve fresh whenever you like!
SERVING
Let the Kadayıf absorb the syrup for 5-8 minutes. Then, drain the excess syrup or pick up the desserts to place onto the serving place
The NIGHTINGALE NEST or BIRD EYE DESSERT is very light and textured choice for joyous celebrations and family dinners
The crunchy texture of Kadayıf and the lightly absorbed syrup goes very well with a wide variety of nuts
Traditionally, and kind of dessert, is served after dinner, and it is always accompanied with a glass of Turkish Tea or Turkish Coffee to complete the serving
Enjoy the small bites and the delicious taste of these amazing, yet practical, desserts
Their cute clever shape, marvellous taste and texture always fascinate the people who are lucky enough to try them!
Enjoy ingenuity!

[@RasidAntu]

Love it..

[@FAIRIESCUISINE]

Thank you!, Your message motivates me.

[@alhaanfatima]

What an incredible recipe! I loved it

[@FAIRIESCUISINE]

Thank you! It is very practical too🤗👌

[@endangkoch7614]

Thanks for recipe i would try to make it

[@FAIRIESCUISINE]

I am so happy that you like it. You will see, it is easy and very tasty dessert👍😋.