Cakes and Desserts

Luscious bright orange pumpkin prepared this way warms up any winter evening. In Turkey, the seeds of the pumpkin are never discarded but oven roasted with salt to nibble on thru winter months, very delicious, nutritious and a huge Anatolian pastime!

This lovely light dessert is wonderful served with crushed walnuts. If you can get clotted cream, it accompanies Kabak Tatlisi wonderfully.

Serves 6
Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 40 minutes

1 kg/2 ¼ pumpkin, peeled and deseeded
450 gr/1 lb sugar
8 lf oz / 1 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon

Crushed walnuts and clotted cream (if available) to serve

Cut the pumpkin into manageable wedges. Place in a broad-based pan in layers, sprinkling sugar between the layers. Add the lemon juice and water and cook on a low heat until the pumpkin is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Add a little more water if required during cooking time to prevent the fruit sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Leave to cool in the pan. Serve sprinkled with crushed walnuts and accompanied with a dollop of clotted cream.

Afiyet Olsun!

Another wonderful recipe from Kitchenella, great as a treat with coffee and tea. Almonds are native to Turkey and we grow some of the best almonds in the world. They are in abundance at home, we make milky puddings, cakes with them as well as using them in pilaffs and casseroles. I was delighted to find this recipe; it has no flour, very moist and very nutritious with almonds and bananas.

120 gr/4 oz butter, plus extra for greasing
120 gr/4 oz dark muscovado sugar
120 gr/4 oz golden syrup
5 ml/1 heaped teaspoon cinnamon
3 medium-ripe bananas, roughly mashed
2 eggs
250 gr/9 oz ground almonds

Preheat the oven to 150 C/ 300F/ Gas 2

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: About 2 hours

Grease a loaf of tin, about 20cm/8in long. Boil the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan together for 3 minutes. Cool for about 15 minutes, and then stir in the cinnamon and bananas. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and fold in the almonds. Add the buttery syrup to the mixture and mix well. Pour the mixture in the baking tin and bake for about 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Makes a delicious soggy cake that lasts for about 5 days.

Afiyet Olsun!

My friend Tina baked some wonderful cookies with pecans – she is from Louisiana, and that was her mother’s recipe. As soon as I tasted, these wonderful cookies took me back to my childhood, as my mother used to bake a very similar version using walnuts. It is amazing to see the similarities we share wherever we are in the world, a very nice feeling, and makes the world feel smaller!

These cookies are very easy make, get ready in no time and they melt in the mouth. It is the end of Ramadan at the moment and we celebrate this special feast period with lots of sweets shared with friends and family. I hope you enjoy this little treat, Iyi Bayramlar to you all!

Serves 6 – 8
Preparation time : 15 minutes Cooking time: 15 – 20 minutes

460 gr/ 16 oz/2 cups self raising flour (whole meal or plain)
230 gr/8 oz/generous 1 cup sugar
230 gr/8 oz unsalted butter, melted
200 gr/7oz walnut (or pecan) pieces
Pinch of salt (labout 1/2 teaspoon)

Powered (icing) sugar to coat the cookies

Preheat oven to 150 C/300 F/ Gas Mark 2

Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. With using your hands, mix them well. Take large egg sized portions and roll into balls with your hands and then slightly flatten into oval shapes. Place them on the greased baking tray.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, and check if they start turning golden / light brown color. If not bake for another 5 minutes.

Once cooked, cool the cookies and when they are slightly warm, coat them with icing sugar. You can serve them with tea, coffee or cold refreshments.

Afiyet Olsun!