Turkish Desserts: 18 Sweets to Try, from Baklava to Katmer

Turkish desserts fall into three broad families: syrup-soaked pastries like baklava, künefe, and katmer; milk puddings like fırında sütlaç, keşkül, and the chicken-based tavukgöğsü; and confections like lokum, helva, and pişmaniye. This guide covers all 18 worth ordering, what each one actually is, and the traditions attached to it. It is the dessert chapter of our larger guide to the best food in Istanbul.

A quick word on who this list serves. First-time visitors can work from the top; the opening entries are the canon. Vegetarians should read entry 4 before ordering anything from a pudding shop. If syrup-heavy sweets wear you out fast, skip ahead to güllaç and keşkül, the two gentlest things here. And if you are shopping for people back home, the candies in entries 3, 11, and 14 travel well.

The 18 desserts at a glance

Dessert	What it is	Worth knowing
Baklava	Layered phyllo, ground pistachios, lemon-infused syrup	Gaziantep tradition; EU Protected Geographical Indication
Künefe	Shredded kadayıf pastry around unsalted goat cheese	The Turkish version comes from Hatay
Lokum (Turkish Delight)	Starch-and-sugar candy in nut, coconut, and rose versions	Classic partner to Turkish coffee
Tavukgöğsü	Milk pudding made with chicken breast, dusted with cinnamon	Contains meat; muhallebi is the vegetarian version
Fırında sütlaç	Oven-baked rice pudding with a caramelized top	The darker the top, the better
Revani	Orange-scented semolina cake soaked in syrup	A home-cooking staple since the 16th century
Tulumba	Ridged fried dough bathed in syrup	A Ramadan classic sold on the street year-round
Un helvası	Flour roasted in butter, shaped like small cookies	Eaten after fish; handed out at funerals
Aşure	Grain, nut, and dried-fruit pudding	”Noah’s pudding”; usually vegan
Ayva tatlısı	Quince poached in sugar syrup, served with cream and nuts	Winter dessert spiced with clove and cinnamon
Cevizli sucuk	Walnuts coated in thickened grape molasses	Vegan; named for its sausage shape, contains no meat
Dondurma	Chewy, slow-melting ice cream thickened with salep	From Maraş; firm enough to eat with a knife and fork
Güllaç	Starch sheets soaked in rose-scented milk	Sold around Ramadan; lighter than baklava
Pişmaniye	Buttery floss candy	Sold in gift shops; a chocolate version exists
Helva	Tahini blocks or a warm semolina pudding	Block versions are stacked in bazaar shops
Lokma	Small fried dough bites in syrup or honey	Sometimes shared in memory of the deceased
Katmer	Laminated pastry with butter, sugar, and pistachio	Croissant-flaky, considerably sweeter
Keşkül	Almond milk pudding topped with coconut or pistachio	Found in muhallebici (pudding shops)

1. Baklava

The pinnacle of Turkish desserts. Crisp layers of phyllo dough are packed with ground pistachios, baked, then drenched in a honey-like sugar syrup infused with lemon. Each piece crunches, then turns buttery. You can hear a good baklava before you taste it.

The craft is strongest in the southeastern city of Gaziantep, and the name “baklava” is registered with the European Commission as a Protected Geographical Indication. The dessert itself was developed in the Topkapı Palace kitchens of the Ottoman era. Pistachio is the classic, though walnut, almond, hazelnut, clotted cream, and even chocolate versions exist; we count the full range in our guide to baklava types. When you are ready to taste rather than read, here is where to find the best baklava in Istanbul.

2. Künefe

Known as knafeh to Arabic speakers, künefe has been around for centuries. Shredded kadayıf pastry is soaked in sugar syrup, which sounds familiar until you hit the center: creamy, unsalted goat cheese. The contrast of sweet crisp threads and mild cheese is the whole point. The Turkish version hails from Hatay, the region bordering Syria, though you no longer need to travel that far; we keep a running list of the best künefe in Istanbul.

3. Lokum (Turkish Delight)

The candy famous enough that C.S. Lewis used it as a bribe in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Its older Ottoman name, rahat ul-hulküm, translates roughly as “comfort of the throat,” and a good piece earns it. Lokum was a precursor to the jellybean and has even turned up in perfumes.

One common complaint from travelers: the boxes back home never chew the same. The lokum sold in Istanbul tends to hold the right ratio of starch to sugar, which is what gives it that dense, springy bite. You will most often meet it beside a cup of Turkish coffee, cutting the bitterness. Look for versions with nuts, shredded coconut, or rose.

4. Tavukgöğsü (chicken pudding)

Yes, chicken. Tavukgöğsü translates as “chicken breast,” and this thick milk pudding genuinely contains it, shredded so fine you would never guess. Once a delicacy served to sultans, the dish traces its roots to the Roman Empire. It arrives shaped like a small log under a generous dusting of cinnamon, and it ranks among the signature dishes of Turkey.

5. Fırında sütlaç

There are rice puddings, and then there is fırında sütlaç. The idea is simple: bake the rice pudding. The Maillard reaction does the rest, building a caramel-colored top and a deeper sweetness underneath. Somewhere between rice pudding, souffle, and custard, it is usually served cold but holds up warm. This is comfort food in the strictest sense.

Once you know what to look for, we have ranked the best sütlaç in Istanbul bowl by bowl.

6. Revani

A fragrant, orange-scented semolina cake soaked in syrup, and one of Turkey’s most home-cooked desserts. It carries weight in professional kitchens too; the saying goes that you cannot call yourself a Middle Eastern, Greek, or Albanian pastry chef without mastering it. The recipe dates to the 16th century, when it was known in Ottoman Turkish as revani, “the precious.” It has a close sibling worth knowing: irmik helvası, the semolina halva.

7. Tulumba

If you love jalebi or churros, this is your branch of the family tree. Picture the juiciest doughnut you have ever eaten, then double the moisture. Ridged lengths of dough are deep-fried, then bathed in syrup, and somehow the result stays crisp outside while soaking through inside. Tulumba is associated with Ramadan but sold year-round, and it is a fixture of Istanbul street food.

8. Un helvası

Helva spans the Balkans, Africa, and Asia, and Turkey alone has a whole catalog of versions. Un helvası, the flour helva, is typically shaped like small cookies. Flour roasted slowly in butter gives it a silky texture that dissolves on the tongue, which makes it a natural partner for bitter tea or coffee.

Two traditions follow it around. The flour and semolina helvas are eaten after fish to cleanse the palate. And it is known as the “halva of the dead,” customarily handed out at funerals.

9. Aşure

Also called Noah’s pudding. The story goes that when the ark came to rest on Mount Ararat, a pudding was improvised from whatever supplies remained. The spirit survives: live in Turkey long enough and a neighbor will eventually knock on your door with a plate of aşure as a gesture of peace.

There is no fixed recipe. Somewhere between pudding and porridge, a bowl might hold grains, nuts, dried fruits, and pine nuts, often twelve or more ingredients in total. It is usually vegan, which makes it one of the few traditional desserts here that plant-based eaters can order without questions.

10. Ayva tatlısı

The quintessential quince dessert, and a winter ritual. Quince is poached in sugared water with spices like clove and cinnamon, then thickened with pectin until soft and glossy. Along the way the pale yellow fruit turns a deep pomegranate pink. It usually arrives with a spoonful of cream and a scatter of nuts. If your visit lands in the cold months, order it.

11. Cevizli sucuk

Named for its resemblance to sucuk, the Turkish sausage, though it contains no meat at all. Walnuts are threaded on a string and dipped repeatedly in thickened grape molasses until coated. That is the entire method, and the result is closer to an excellent trail mix than to candy. Grape molasses has a folk reputation in Turkey for helping with anemia thanks to its iron, and walnuts bring their omega-3s, which is why hikers treat cevizli sucuk as fuel. It deserves to be better known.

12. Dondurma

Turkish ice cream plays by its own rules. The famous style comes from the city of Maraş and gets its character from salep, ground orchid bulbs, which make it thick, chewy, elastic, and slow to melt. It is sturdy enough to be loaded on a stick and displayed the way döner is, sturdy enough to be eaten with a knife and fork, and famously strong enough to have lifted cars. The street vendors in Ottoman-style costume are known for teasing customers with it before handing the cone over.

13. Güllaç

An edible cloud, first recorded in the 14th-century health manual Yinshan Zhengyao by the physician Hu Sihui, and considered a precursor of baklava. Thin corn-starch sheets are soaked in warm milk scented with rose water, then finished with pistachios and pomegranate seeds. Think of a more delicate tres leches with no sponge at all.

If baklava’s sweetness flattens you, güllaç is the answer: gentler, lighter, almost restrained. The dried sheets are sold in shops during Ramadan, packaged with instructions, which is also when you will find the finished dessert most easily.

14. Pişmaniye

Often translated as Turkish cotton candy, which undersells it. Where cotton candy is airy sugar, pişmaniye is buttery, dense, and wool-soft, closer to its Asian sibling Dragon Beard candy with a deeper flavor. You will spot it in gift shops in plain and chocolate versions, and it makes a reliable souvenir. Its twin, saray helvası, is a worthy substitute.

Legend says a confectioner invented it after falling for a woman whose jealousy left him pişman, regretful, hence the name. The duller scholarly verdict points to a Persian or Coptic root. Either way, the regret you want to avoid is leaving Turkey without trying it.

15. Helva

An international staple with a distinctly Turkish depth of bench. The warm semolina version is soft comfort food. The cold tahini block is something else entirely: crumbly yet tender, with a nougat-like consistency, traditionally served on special occasions to fortify the eater. When you wander the bazaars of Istanbul, look for the stacked blocks studded with nuts, fruits, and other fillings.

16. Lokma

The name means “bite” or “morsel,” and these small rounds of deep-fried dough were once given, dipped in honey, to victors of the Olympic Games. Today they come doused in syrup or honey, sprinkled with cinnamon, sometimes even paired with cheese. Lokma also carries a quieter role: relatives of a recently deceased person sometimes prepare and share it so that those who eat will pray for the soul.

17. Katmer

Also called “groom katmer.” By tradition, the groom’s father would send katmer to the newlyweds and the bride’s father on the first morning of the marriage, a wish for sweetness ahead and a restorative after an exhausting wedding. Technically it sits near börek and baklava, but katmer is made by laminating the dough, so it eats like a croissant: flaky, buttery, far sweeter, and wearing a coat of pistachio.

18. Keşkül

Named after a beggar’s bowl, this smooth almond pudding began with undercover Ottoman officials feeding the poor. It is now one of the rarer finds on this list, served with shredded coconut or pistachios in the quieter corners of a muhallebici or patisserie. An old urban legend says that when a man wanted to declare his love, he would take the woman to a pudding shop. Keşkül would have been on the table.

Where to eat all of this

Knowing the desserts is half the work; the other half is finding the right counter. Our guide to the best dessert shops in Istanbul covers exactly that, shop by shop. And if you would rather taste your way through the city with someone who grew up on this food, our Istanbul food tours run in small groups of ten or fewer, the same way we have run them since 2013.