The Ottoman Empire built one of history's great sweet-making traditions. Baklava, künefe, Turkish delight, and more — here's where they came from and what makes them extraordinary.
Of all the things the Ottoman Empire gave the world, its sweet-making tradition may be the most universally beloved. Baklava, künefe, Turkish delight (lokum), helva, and dozens of syrup-soaked pastries have spread from Istanbul across the globe — and remain, centuries later, among the most distinctive and seductive confections in world cuisine.
The Ottoman Palace Sweet Tradition
The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul had an entire section of its kitchen complex dedicated to sweets — the Helvahane, or 'helva house'. This was not a side operation. At its peak, the Helvahane employed dozens of specialist confectioners who produced sweets not just for the Sultan's table but as gifts to foreign dignitaries, rewards for military victories, and distributions during religious celebrations.
The Ottoman palace's access to sugar, nuts, rose water, and spices from across its vast empire allowed its confectioners to develop extraordinary techniques. Many of the sweets we enjoy today were refined or created in the Topkapi kitchens and then spread through the empire as Ottoman culture expanded.
The History of Baklava
Baklava — layers of paper-thin filo pastry with chopped nuts, baked and drenched in syrup or honey — is one of the most disputed dishes in food history. Turks, Greeks, Arabs, Armenians, and Persians all claim it as their own. The historical evidence points to the Ottoman palace as the place where baklava was refined into its current form, though its roots are older.
The city of Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey is today considered the capital of baklava. Antep fıstığı — the small, intensely flavoured local pistachio — is the defining ingredient of Gaziantep baklava, and the city's baklava makers take extraordinary pride in their craft. Gaziantep baklava received a Geographical Indication (GI) status from the European Union in 2013, much to the delight of Turks and the irritation of their neighbours.
Künefe: The Cheese Dessert That Defies Expectations
Künefe (also known as kanafeh) is one of the most unusual and spectacular desserts in the Turkish repertoire: shredded wheat pastry packed with unsalted stretchy cheese, baked in a copper pan until golden and crispy, then soaked in sugar syrup and topped with crushed pistachios. It is served hot, with the cheese pulling in long strings as you cut into it.
Its origins lie in the Levant — in the Palestinian city of Nablus and across what is now Syria and Lebanon — but künefe spread through the Ottoman Empire and became a beloved fixture of southern Turkish cuisine, particularly in Hatay, Gaziantep, and Antakya. Today it is made and adored from Istanbul to Melbourne.
Turkish Delight: A Sweet with a Story
Lokum — known in English as 'Turkish delight' after a British merchant named it so in the 18th century — has been made in Turkey since at least the 15th century. It was invented, according to tradition, in Istanbul by a confectioner named Hacı Bekir, who opened his shop in the city in 1777. His shop still exists on İstiklal Caddesi in Istanbul, run by his descendants.
Traditional lokum is made from starch and sugar syrup, flavoured with rose water, mastic, lemon, or pomegranate, and studded with pistachios, hazelnuts, or walnuts. The mass-produced, gelatine-based versions sold in tourist shops worldwide are a pale imitation. A proper Istanbul lokum is soft, fragrant, and entirely different.
Why Turkish Sweets Are Made the Way They Are
Turkish desserts are almost always intensely sweet — often drenched in syrup — and this is not an accident. Sugar was historically a luxury item in the Ottoman world, and sweet foods were associated with celebration, generosity, and abundance. Offering someone something sweet was a gesture of welcome and goodwill. The Turkish phrase 'tatlı ye, tatlı konuş' — 'eat something sweet, speak sweetly' — captures this cultural connection between sweetness and kindness.
Sweets at Şehzade
Our künefe at Şehzade is made fresh and served hot — the proper way, with that irreplaceable pull of warm cheese beneath the crispy golden crust. It is the dessert we are most proud of, and the one our customers most frequently say they dream about. Come and try it — and taste a small piece of Ottoman culinary history.