Sütlü Kadayıf: A Chilled Turkish Kataifi Dessert from Bursa
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Some desserts are so closely tied to a place that one bite instantly transports you back there. For me, sütlü kadayıf is one of those desserts.
If you’ve spent any time in Bursa, particularly at one of the city’s famous İskender kebap restaurant, you may have come across this wonderful Turkish dessert. Unlike the heavily syrup-soaked sweets that many people associate with Turkish cuisine, sütlü kadayıf is lighter, cooler and surprisingly refreshing. Crispy strands of kataifi pastry are wrapped around a hazelnut filling, baked until golden and then soaked in a cold milk syrup before being served chilled.
It’s one of our family’s favourite desserts and one we actively seek out whenever we’re in Bursa. In fact, some restaurants only make a limited number each day, so before setting off we often call ahead to check whether there are any portions left.
With the weather heating up in London, I found myself craving something cool and nostalgic. As luck would have it, I had some leftover kataifi pastry in the fridge after making a Swiss chard pie (a recipe I’ll share another day), so I decided to try recreating sütlü kadayıf at home.
A Surprisingly Easy Turkish Dessert
One of the things I love about this recipe is how approachable it is. At first glance, sütlü kadayıf looks like a dessert that would require advanced pastry skills, but it’s actually very straightforward to make.
The kataifi pastry is gently pulled apart by hand and coated with melted ghee. Portions are then wrapped around a generous hazelnut filling and arranged in a baking tin. After baking until crisp and golden, the hot pastry is drenched with a cold milk syrup made from sugar, water and milk.
A few hours in the fridge transforms everything into a dessert that’s crisp, creamy and wonderfully refreshing.
Because it uses shop-bought kataifi pastry, most of the work is already done for you.
The Verdict
My daughter is a devoted sütlü kadayıf fan and a particularly tough critic when it comes to recreating favourite Turkish dishes. Thankfully, this version received her approval.
The contrast between the crunchy pastry, nutty filling and cool milk syrup makes it easy to understand why this dessert remains so popular in Bursa. It’s rich enough to feel indulgent, yet light enough to enjoy on a hot summer day.
If you’re looking for a Turkish dessert that is a little different from baklava, this sütlü kadayıf recipe is well worth trying.
Recipe below.
Sütlü Kadayıf
Ingredients
200 g kadayıf (fresh pastry)
75 g ghee, melted (reserve 2–3 tablespoons for finishing)
100 g hazelnuts, finely chopped
150 g sugar
100 ml water
A squeeze of lemon juice
200 ml cold milk
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Gently pull apart the kadayıf strands, drizzle over most of the melted ghee 1 tablespoon at a time and toss until evenly coated.
Divide the kadayıf into three portions, shape into squares, add hazelnuts in the centre and fold to enclose. Arrange in a 20 cm round tin and drizzle with the reserved ghee.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes until golden and crisp. Meanwhile, make the syrup by heating the sugar and water until it comes to boil, then remove from the heat and add lemon juice.
Stir the cold milk into the syrup and let it cool completely. Pour the cold syrup over the hot kadayıf as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Leave to cool, then refrigerate for several hours before serving. Serve chilled, with extra cold milk if desired.
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