Tag Archives | dessert

Poached Dried Apricots in Light Syrup with Kaymak

By Ozlem Warren on July 11, 2025 in SEBZE, Vegetarian recipes 0

This delicious Kuru Kayısı Tatlısı, Poached Dried Apricots in Light Syrup with Clotted Cream , from my book SEBZE is a light, delicious and easy dessert for entertaining. Turkiye is one of the largest producers of apricots, kayısı. They are grown in abundance during the summer months, and some of the yearly harvest is dried in the sun to be enjoyed all year round. Malatya, a city in southeast Turkiye, is particularly famous for the quality of its dried apricots, which are exported all over the world. When I was a child, we lived in Elazığ, a town next to Malatya and my father would bring home cases of juicy apricots after work. We would eagerly wait for my father’s return and the apricots would soon disappear. Poaching dried apricots in light syrup brings out their beautiful fragrance and they are luscious served with cream.

Prepare ahead: You can poach the dried apricots in syrup 1–2 days ahead. Once cool, keep in a container, covered, in the refrigerator.

Variation and leftovers: Instead of clotted cream, you can stuff the dried apricots with 85 g (3 oz/2/3 cup) chopped walnuts for a plant-based feast. Leftovers can be enjoyed for breakfast or you can serve the leftover syrup as a light sherbet drink, with ice cubes and fresh mint in small glasses.

Here’s my recipe from my book SEBZE; if you are after delicious, easy, wholesome vegetarian Turkish recipes, there are 85 scrumptious recipes are on offer in SEBZE, along with stunning photography, stories, heritage – you can get a copy here worldwide.

Afiyet olsun,

Ozlem x

Poached Dried Apricots in Light Syrup with Kaymak

This is a light, delicious and easy dessert for entertaining. Turkey is one of the largest producers of apricots, kayısı. They are grown in abundance during the summer months, and some of the yearly harvest is dried in the sun to be enjoyed all year round. Malatya, a city in southeast Turkey, is particularly famous for the quality of its dried apricots, which are exported all over the world. When I was a child, we lived in Elazığ, a town next to Malatya and my father would bring home cases of juicy apricots after work. We would eagerly wait for my father’s return and the apricots would soon disappear. Poaching dried apricots in light syrup brings out their beautiful fragrance and they are luscious served with cream.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Easy Desserts

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

150 g (5 oz/2/3 cup) granulated sugar
450 ml (15 fl oz/1¾ cups) hot water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
250 g (9 oz) soft dried apricots
130 g (4½ oz/½ cup) Turkish thick cream (kaymak) or clotted cream (or plant-based clotted cream)
2 tablespoons crushed pistachios

Instructions

Combine the sugar and hot water in a medium pan and bring to the boil. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves, then reduce to a simmer. Pour in the lemon juice and add the dried apricots, and poach for 20 minutes over a low–medium heat. The apricots will plump up and the syrup will thicken, infused with the apricots’ beautiful fragrance. Leave to cool.
Once cool, gently open the split of the apricot and fill each with about ⅓ teaspoon kaymak or clotted cream. Place the stuffed apricots on a serving dish, spoon the syrup around them and sprinkle with crushed pistachios to serve.

Baked Fresh Figs with Honey and Clotted Cream;Kaymakli Incir Tatlisi

By Ozlem Warren on September 12, 2011 in Cakes and Desserts 11

Fresh, luscious fresh figs, they are a treat

I love figs; my grandmother used to have a huge fig tree in her garden and we grandchildren used to love “helping” picking them up. Turkey produces some of the finest figs; they are sweet, juicy and darker than the average fig, especially the Bursa variety.

Figs are packed with fiber; they are not only delicious but very healthy too. It is so wonderful to eat just plain; what a treat to have them by the salad for lunch or for a special treat. But if you’d like to turn them into an easy, healthy, delicious dessert, here is the recipe, an adaptation from Ghillie Basan’s version:

Serves 2-4
Preparation time: 5-10 minutes Baking time: 5-8 minutes

4 ripe (preferably) Turkish figs
15ml-30ml/1-2 tablespoons clear honey
30ml-45ml/2-3 tablespoons clotted cream (or kaymak, Turkish clotted cream or crème fraiche or plain yoghurt)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180F/350C

Using a sharp knife, cut a deep cross from the top of each fig to the bottom, keeping the skin at the bottom intact. Place the figs upright in a baking dish.

Drizzle the honey and the lemon juice over the figs and bake in the oven for about 5-8 minutes. Take out the baking tray from the oven. Spoon a dollop of clotted cream or yoghurt into the middle of each fig, or serve them in bowls and let everyone help themselves with yoghurt or cream.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem