Cezerye; Caramalised carrot paste with nuts
Have you ever tried the delicious Cezerye dessert? A specialty from Mersin region at southern Turkey, Cezerye is a delicious confectionery made of carrots, nuts and sugar, coated with desiccated coconut flakes. They are utterly delicious, healthy and also known to be an aphrodisiac.
Spread the cooked carrot & nut paste evenly and tightly, making sure they stay intact.
With my roots going back to southern Turkey, Antakya, I grew up sampling the very best Cezerye from the nearby Mersin region. Such a delicious and healthy snack, it was always available whenever we wanted some for a treat, therefore I haven’t really thought of making them when I was home. But living abroad and not having an access to these scrumptious treats make you brave enough to have a go at them, like making homemade Turkish Delights. I am delighted to report you that compared to making Turkish Delights, Cezerye is so much easier to make, lighter and equally delicious. They are traditionally made with hazelnuts; I used walnuts for my Cezerye recipe and they were delicious. My children absolutely loved them!
I am passionate about healthy, delicious Turkish cuisine, and wholesome desserts like this Cezerye; over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed copies are available at this link, if interested, and delivered worldwide.
Cezerye; delicious carrot paste with walnuts from Mersin, Turkey.
Carrots have never been sweeter; hope you can have a go and treat yourself, family and friends with these delicious carrot delights. Cezerye keeps well in an air tight container for a week.
Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem
- 3 medium to large carrots (app. 400 gr), cleaned and grated
- 200 gr / 7 oz. / 1 cup white sugar (or 1¼ cup brown sugar)
- 50 gr / 2 oz. walnuts, chopped into small pieces
- 8 fl. oz./1 cup water
- 50 gr/ 2 oz./1/3 cup desiccated coconut flakes to decorate
- Bowl of water to shape cezerye squares or balls
- Place the grated carrots, ½ cup water and sugar in a wide, heavy pan.
- Cook over medium heat, uncovered, stirring often. Cook this way for about 30 minutes or until all the liquid evaporated.
- Stir in the rest of the ½ cup water and cook again on medium heat, stirring continuously (carrots also release their own juice, therefore I prefer to add the liquid a step at a time so that the carrots won’t become mushy).
- Cook the carrots until all the juice evaporated and they are softened, this should take another 30 minutes. Using your stirring spoon, mash the cooked carrots to turn into a thick, chunky paste. At this point, they should also thicken, start to caramalise and get sticky (you can take a little bit between your fingers to test whether it sticks or not). Turn the heat off.
- Stir in the chopped walnuts to the carrot paste and mix well. Again using your stirring spoon, blend them all well and turn into a thick paste.
- Cover a small rectangular dish or tray with parchment paper. Spread the carrot paste evenly and tightly, making sure they stay intact, with a height of 1,5 cm (0.6”).
- Cover with a cling film and rest the mixture to settle for 2 hours in fridge.
- After 2 hours, start shaping the carrot paste. Have a bowl of water near you. Wet your hands, take a dessert spoonful and shape into small round balls. Or wet your knife and cut into small squares.
- Spread the desiccated coconut flakes on a dry surface and coat the carrot balls and squares with the flakes to coat all over.
- Cezerye is ready to serve. Cezerye keeps well in an air tight container for a week.
Özlem, I love carrots in just about any form – but I never had them like this – looks scrumptious!
Hi Barbara, it really makes a very delicious, quite unusual dessert, one of our favorites, many thanks for stopping by!:)
These turned out awesome! I’m so excited because I love these in the restaurant and I had no clue they were this easy to make!
Merhaba, so glad to hear you enjoyed these delicious and healthy delights – Afiyet Olsun!
Özlem, What a delightful treat! Turns out we’re having Nancy from our cooking class over for dinner this weekend and I think I’ll surprise her with this for desert. Thanks. Çok öpüyoruz.
J
Merhaba J, how nice you’ll get together with Nancy; I hope you enjoy making your own cezerye; a bit lighter than the commercial ones, it hit the spot with us. Mind you, I truly love the real thing! Afiyet olsun, cok selamlar, sevgiler, Ozlem
Delicious Ozlem! So similar and yet so different from the Indian Gajjar halwa (carrot fudge)…I just love that you’ve used walnuts, they’re perfect with carrot:) xxPeri.
Many thanks Peri, I have now remembered your delicious carrot fudge, it really is lovely to see the similarities and variations with Indian cuisine. Hazelnuts are traditionally used in this dessert, though walnuts are delicious too, so are the pistachios : ) Ozlem xx
Enjoying your delicious recipes. Thanks for creating a recipe card that can be printed as a separate page, as well as having more detailed preparation and cooking instructions. Many thanks. Lynn
Dear Lynn,
You are very welcome; many thanks for taking the time and your kind note, glad to hear you enjoy the recipes and the recipe card helps. My best wishes & afiyet olsun, Ozlem
I’ve never seen these carrot balls at all in Bodrum. I’ll keep my eyes open from now on.
In a traditional sense, they are sold as cezerye rectangles, very popular in southern Turkey, but every where in Istanbul too, worth keeping an eye for it – or making it 🙂
I’ve never come across these before but sweets and desserts made with carrots always seem to be a real treat and if they’re not too unhealthy then that’s a real bonus. They sound lovely.
I agree with you Phil, carrots make wonderful cakes and desserts, as in the case, love their natural sweetness. Thanks for stopping by
How interesting! A similar confection is found here in Lebanon, called jazariyeh; I have also seen something similar in Iraqi cuisine. I am so interested in these commonalities which must come probably from the Ottoman times.
That’s right Joumana, even the name Jazariyeh sounds the same as cezerye! I do enjoy seeing cross cultural the similarities and variations, many thanks for your note.
Some years ago, we had some Turkish student interns who, after a semester break, brought back a box of this to share with us. How glad I am to have a recipe for this wonderful treat!
Merhaba, many thanks for stopping by, so glad you will be making your own cezerye, hope you enjoy it and it brings happy memories! Best wishes, Ozlem
Fantastic way of using up the carrots on my allotment and a great introduction to a yummy Turkish delicacy.
Thanks so much.
Merhaba Christine,
Many thanks for your note – so glad you enjoyed this carrot & nuts delight, great way to enjoy a healthy, delicious treat, afiyet olsun, Ozlem
Cupcake
Oh my! Was introduced to these today and wow! they are gorgeous! I am definitely going to try making these. A wonderful treat.. Thank you for sharing.
My pleasure!
Oh my! Tasted these for the first time today….and it won’t be the last! They are soooo delicious! Will definitely try making these. Thank you for the recipe.
Absolutely delighted to hear you enjoyed Cezerye, Afiyet Olsun! I have included Cezerye at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table too, if you’re interested in, more info at this link, my best wishes, Ozlem https://www.gbpublishing.co.uk/product-page/ozlem-s-turkish-table-hardback
Can you microwave the carrots so you don’t spend an hour at the stove?
Dear Christine, unfortunately it wouldn’t work as the moisture needs to evaporate with cooking over the stove top and the texture will be different too.
Abla, I love this food. Thank you for the recipe. I’m from Yogyakarta-Indonesia. Tanıştığıma memnun oldum.
Merhaba, many thanks for your kind note! Selamlar, Ozlem
Hi Ozlem Warren
I was looking for this recipe,I remember when my mom making this for us the family,and I really liked them although my mom is no longer with us the family,I really miss her cooking and baking,she learned from my grandmother how to cook and bake,and my grandparents are from Turkey also,the amazing and delicious food my mom prepared for us .I am so glad I found you and your great recipes now I can cook and bake just like you and of course my mom many thanks.
Merhaba again dear Lucy, so lovely to get your note again and so happy to hear you’re enjoying my recipes. How nice you have Turkish heritage; so precious memories you have with your grandmother and mother. I am away from my parents too and I find cooking family recipes are so special to keep the memories alive. That’s why I included many personal stories from my parents in my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland (signed copies can be ordered at this link https://www.gbpublishing.co.uk/product-page/ozlem-s-turkish-table-hardback)
Many thanks again for your kind note and Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem
Merhaba. Sitenizi ve sizi yeni keşfettim. Cezerye tarifi ararken:) Dün yaptım, kıvamı harika oldu. Benim için tek kusuru şeker ölçüsünün fazla oluşu. Bir sonrakinde yarım ölçü yapacağım. Tarif için teşekkürler, sevgiler.
Merhabalar Yelda,
Cok tesekkur ederim notunuz icin, ellerinize saglik – benim tariflerim genelde gelenekselden daha az tatli ama tabii damak tadiniza gore ayarlayabilirsiniz, afiyet olsun, sevgiler, Ozlem
I made these for a dinner party and everyone loved them! I used a bag of baby carrots that I shredded in a food processor. Only comment I have is that next time I would be to double the recipe as the portion is on the smaller size. I also made your ezogelin and yaprak sarma for the dinner:) all were a hit!
Merhaba, Afiyet olsun! So glad you enjoyed it – what a feast! Ozlem