Sinterklaas

I know it's been over a week now, and Christmas is approaching rapidly. But I didn't have a picture, and I hate posting without one. True, I still don't have a picture, but these muffins are too much fun to go unnoticed.

So, what do I look for in a Sinterklaas-snack? Well, speculaas of course, and spices. But to make them real special, they have an almondpaste filling, with chopped almonds on top.

Sinterklaas-surprise-Muffins

150 g Speculaas, crushed
150 g All-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Speculaas spice*
80 g Brown Sugar
250 ml Buttermilk
60 ml Vegetable Oil
1 egg
100 g Almondpaste, divided
50 g Almonds, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 180 C. Line or grease muffin tins.

In a medium bowl, combine first 6 ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and oil. Add in dry ingredients. Only mix until no streaks of flour remain visible.

Put enough batter in each muffin tin just to cover the bottom. Place a cube of the almonpaste in the center of the tins, and fill with the remaining batter.

Pour some chopped almonds on top, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

* Speculaas spice is a mix of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, white pepper, ginger, cardamom and mace.