Turkey offers a wide variety of desserts with a long history and tradition. Now is the perfect season to enjoy sweet desserts with hot coffee or tea. We introduce you to Turkish desserts that will make you pour a little happiness in your mouth. Here the top 4 sweet Turkish desserts.
Turkey's Delight, Lokum
The representative Turkish dessert Lokum, which is known to us as Turkish delight, is a small, soft dessert. Unlike jellies made with gelatin, starch is added to Lokum to give a more chewy texture than jelly. Lokum has a wide variety of flavors, shapes and colors, and depending on the taste, nuts such as walnuts, pistachios and almonds can be added. It is usually covered with very fine sugar powder or coconut powder to add sweetness, and locals often serve Lokum with Turkish coffee after meals. Lokum, which spread to Europe in the 19th century, is loved by people from all over the world outside of Turkey. Particularly in Turkey, you can taste the exotic Lokum, made with mint or lemon to make it sour, or premium Lokum with rose petals, saffron and pomegranate grains on the outside.
Baklava, Turkey's national dessert
Baklava is a pastry-like dessert with nuts between layers of filo dough, which is as thin as a sheet of paper. It usually consists of more than 40 layers and is filled with nuts and sugar and baked in the oven, then sprinkled with syrup to give it a sweet taste. It is said that the Ottoman royal family developed the technique of making filo, giving Baklava the look it has today. Pistachio baklava is most popular in Turkey, although it has as many flavors and varieties as Lokum. Unlike regular baklava, Kuru Baklava, which has no syrup and a crunchy texture, and Cevizli Baklava, which can be enjoyed lighter with walnuts, are representative menu items. Considered the lightest and most moist Baklava, Sütlü Nuriye is made with milk instead of syrup. Today, Gaziantep, a city in southeastern Turkey counted as the capital of Baklava, produces as many as 12 types of Baklava, and there is a 190-year-old baklava specialty store in Istanbul.
Chicken fillet pudding, Tavuk Göğsü
Tavuk Göğsü, means chicken breast in Turkish, actually milk pudding with white chicken breast. However, the taste of chicken is barely perceptible, so if you eat it without knowing it, you won't notice it at all. In addition to chicken breast, the chewy and creamy Tavuk Goshu contains milk, cinnamon and vanilla beans. Originally one of the delicacies served only to the Ottoman sultans in the royal family, it has now become a dessert that can be easily found in cafes and bakeries all over the city. Put tavuk goshu on a pan and fry until deep caramel color on one side to make Kazandibi. Kazandibi has a richer taste than Tavuk Goeshu.
Turkish style cooked chestnuts, Kestane Shekeri
Turkish people have a great love for sweet desserts. It is also common to marinate fruits and nuts in sugar or honey. Kestane şhekeri is a dessert made from candied chestnuts, reminiscent of cooked chestnuts. The cooking process is very similar, but the difference is that the chestnuts cooked with syrup can be brought to room temperature, refrigerated, wrapped individually in baking paper and stored separately. Kestane Shekeri, covered in chocolate on the outside, is also a popular among the locals. It offers a different sweetness and chewiness than Lokum, and is known for its specialty from Bursa, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
