Kemalpaşa Tatlısı

Kemalpaşa tatlısı is a Turkish sweet made by mixing fresh unsalted cheese into a dough, baking it and then simmering it in sweet syrup. The small, round baked pieces swell as they absorb the syrup and take on a moist texture. The name comes from Mustafakemalpaşa in Bursa Province.

Kneading cheese into the dough and baking it

Besides cheese, the dough uses ingredients such as wheat flour, semolina and eggs. A distinctive feature is that the cheese is not added after the sweet is finished but is kneaded into the dough together with the flour. The dough is shaped into small pieces and baked, and before serving, the pieces are simmered in sugar syrup and cooled. The syrup is not just poured over the top; it is absorbed into the inside of the dough as the pieces simmer. They are sometimes served with kaymak or crushed nuts.

The baked dough comes in two types: baked once, or baked twice and further dried. The once-baked type is soft and is popular as something eaten locally. The twice-baked type contains less moisture, keeps longer and is easier to carry to distant places. It can be bought in its dry state and finished at home by soaking it in syrup.

A sweet of the town

Orhan Gürtaş and İrfan Dikerler, who have made this sweet in Mustafakemalpaşa for many years, say that they once used sheep’s milk according to the season and later began to use cow’s milk as well. Passengers on buses passing through the town can be seen buying it as a souvenir, and the baked sweet has spread beyond the town as people take it home to their families.

The municipality’s description relays a story that the sweet originated with an immigrant woman who made it for children, as well as a story about a small-scale maker in the early 20th century. These accounts are memories preserved in the area, but it is not possible to settle on a single answer as to when and by whom this sweet was created.

Glossary