Turkish desserts: 20 sweets to know, from baklava to kazandibi
Turkish desserts go far beyond baklava. Here are 20 to know, from syrup-soaked pastries and milk puddings to a stretchy ice cream, with recipes to make at home and places to try them in London.
Turkish sweets fall into a few families. There are the syrup desserts (şerbetli tatlılar), built on filo, shredded kadayıf pastry or semolina and soaked in sugar syrup. There are the milk puddings (sütlü tatlılar), lighter and often set with rice flour or starch. And there are the confections, from lokum to helva, that you buy by weight and take home in a box. Many go back to the Ottoman palace kitchens.
Where to try Turkish desserts in London
Syrup and pastry desserts
1. Baklava
Layers of thin filo with pistachio or walnut, baked in butter and soaked in syrup. Gaziantep, in south-east Turkey, is famous for its pistachio version. Read the history of baklava. Make it with our pistachio baklava recipe.
2. Künefe
Shredded kadayıf pastry around a layer of unsalted melting cheese, baked in a small pan and soaked in syrup. Eat it hot, while the cheese still stretches. It is known across the Middle East as knafeh. Here is our künefe recipe.
3. Kadayıf
The same shredded pastry baked in a tray with walnuts or pistachios. Crunchy where künefe is soft.
4. Şöbiyet
A baklava cousin from Gaziantep: triangles of filo filled with pistachio and a little cream.
5. Katmer
A paper-thin Gaziantep pastry filled with pistachio and clotted cream, folded and baked. Traditionally eaten for breakfast.
6. Revani
A light semolina sponge soaked in lemon syrup, often topped with coconut. See our revani recipe.
7. Şekerpare
Soft semolina biscuits, each with an almond on top, baked and soaked in syrup. Here is our şekerpare recipe.
8. Tulumba
Ridged fingers of fried choux-style dough dropped into syrup. A street-stall favourite. Try our tulumba recipe.
9. Lokma
Small fried dough balls in syrup, often handed out free on special occasions in Turkey. Make them with our lokma recipe.
10. Kemalpaşa
Small cheese and semolina dumplings soaked in syrup, from the town of Kemalpaşa near Bursa.
Milk puddings
11. Sütlaç
Rice pudding, often baked in a clay pot until the top caramelises (fırın sütlaç). Make it with our sütlaç recipe.
12. Kazandibi
A milk pudding cooked until the bottom of the pan burns slightly, then turned over so the caramelised side is on top. The name means “bottom of the pot”. See our kazandibi recipe.
13. Tavuk göğsü
Yes, a milk pudding made with finely shredded chicken breast. It tastes of milk and cinnamon, not chicken, and dates back to the Ottoman palace. More about tavuk göğsü.
14. Muhallebi
The simplest milk pudding, set with rice flour or starch and flavoured with rosewater or mastic.
15. Güllaç
A Ramadan dessert: paper-thin starch wafers layered with milk, rosewater and pomegranate seeds. Read more about güllaç.
16. Aşure
“Noah’s pudding”, made with grains, beans, dried fruit and nuts. It is made in the month of Muharram and shared with neighbours. Here is our aşure recipe.
Sweets, ice cream and more
17. Lokum (Turkish delight)
Soft cubes of starch and sugar flavoured with rose, lemon, pistachio or mastic, dusted with icing sugar. See Turkish delight on Wikipedia. Make it with our homemade lokum recipe.
18. Tahin helva
A crumbly, fudge-like sweet made from tahini and sugar, sometimes marbled with cocoa or studded with pistachio.
19. Kabak tatlısı
Pumpkin slices candied in sugar, served cold with tahini and crushed walnuts. An autumn and winter dessert.
20. Maraş dondurma
Ice cream from Kahramanmaraş, thickened with salep and mastic so it stretches and can be cut with a knife. Street sellers in Istanbul famously tease customers with it. Read about dondurma.
Where to eat Turkish desserts in London
Hafız Mustafa 1864, Knightsbridge
The London branch of one of Istanbul’s best-known confectioners, directly opposite Harrods. Baklava, lokum, milk puddings and gift boxes.
Cafer Erol London 1807, Knightsbridge
The tearoom of the Istanbul sweet maker Şekerci Cafer Erol, in business since 1807. Its first European flagship opened on Brompton Road in late 2024.
Bebek Baklava, Dalston
A dessert shop and café on Kingsland High Street, in the middle of Dalston’s Turkish strip. Baklava is the speciality.
The Baklava Company, Limehouse
A Turkish dessert café on Commercial Road, which moved into a former bank building in late 2023.
AntepHan Baklava & Künefe, Enfield
A sweet shop and café on Hertford Road named after Antep, the city most associated with pistachio baklava. The counter is all about syrup-soaked pastry.
Pera Artisan Patisserie, Harringay
A Turkish bakery and patisserie on Green Lanes, open from 7am to 10pm every day, so it works for breakfast pastries and an evening dessert.
Turkish Dish recommends
For a fuller list, read our guide to the best baklava, künefe and Turkish desserts in London, or browse all dessert and baklava shops.
Travelling to Turkey? Our sister site Visit Turkey picks 10 Turkish desserts to try on your trip.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most popular Turkish dessert?
Baklava is the best known, inside Turkey and out. Künefe and sütlaç are close behind on restaurant menus.
What is a Turkish dessert with cheese?
Künefe, which hides melting cheese inside crisp kadayıf pastry, and kemalpaşa, small cheese dumplings in syrup.
What do you drink with Turkish desserts?
Turkish tea or Turkish coffee. See our guides to brewing Turkish tea and making Turkish coffee.
