This easy Ayva Tatlisi Recipe is a classic Turkish Quince Dessert made with five simple ingredients. The fruit halves simmer slowly in syrup until they turn deep red, with no food coloring needed. You need a pan and about an hour on the stove.
Serve it chilled with a spoonful of Kaymak and crushed pistachios on top. It tastes even better the next day, so it is a great no bake dessert to make ahead for guests.
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What Is Quince (Ayva)?
Quince is a hard yellow fruit from the same family as apples and pears. Ayva is its Turkish name, and it comes into season in October and stays around until early January. The fruit is firm, covered in a light fuzz, and has a hard core with small seeds inside.
Raw quince is tart and dry, so most people do not eat it fresh. Cooking changes it completely. The flesh softens, turns sweet and fragrant, and tastes somewhere between an apple and a pear.
In Turkey we use quince for jams, jellies, and compotes as well as this dessert. It is also a good source of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium.
What is Ayva Tatlisi?
Ayva Tatlisi, sometimes called Turkish Poached Quince, is one of the classic syrupy desserts of Turkish home cooking. Quince halves cook slowly in a light syrup with cinnamon and cloves until they are soft and deep red.
You will find it in lokantas all over Turkey through autumn and winter.
Just like my Turkish Fig Pudding, Kabak Tatlısı - Easy Turkish Pumpkin Dessert, and Güllaç Recipe, it needs only a few ingredients and very little skill.
Why This Recipe Works
- This is a no bake dessert. Everything happens in one pan on the stove, and you never turn the oven on unless you want the optional baked finish.
- Making it ahead works perfectly. Cook it a day or two before your guests arrive, and it gets better as it sits in the fridge.
- There is no pastry, no butter, and no flour in it, just fruit, sugar, and spices, so it is a light, guilt free dessert next to most Turkish sweets.
- I think this is the easiest syrupy dessert in Turkish cooking. It is far less work than Turkish Baklava, and you need no special equipment to make it at home.
- You do not have to peel the quinces. I leave the skins on, and they soften in the syrup as the fruit cooks.
- Anyone avoiding gluten can eat it, and without the kaymak on top it is vegan too.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Quince - Look for firm, fragrant fruit about the size of a large pear, golden yellow with no bruises. Core them carefully with a paring knife so no woody bits stay behind.
- Sugar - Plain granulated sugar is all you need.
- Cinnamon - Cloves are the usual flavoring for Ayva Tatlisi, but I like adding a cinnamon stick to the syrup as well.
- Pistachio - Crushed pistachios are my favorite garnish for Turkish desserts such as Kadaif Recipe, Muhallebi, Tulumba, and Revani - Turkish Semolina Cake. Any nuts you like work here.
How to Make Ayva Tatlisi?
To prepare the quinces, cut them in half and remove the seeds and cores. Peeling the quinces is optional and I usually leave them on.
Place the quince halves in a pan along with the sugar, water, quince seeds, cinnamon sticks, and/or cloves.
Bring the pan to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat and let the quince halves simmer gently with a lid on for about an hour, or until the quinces are tender and pink.
After cooking the quinces, take them out of the syrup and transfer them to a serving dish. Discard the cinnamon stick and cloves and let the quinces cool down completely before serving.
After the quince halves have cooled down, pour some of the syrup over them.
Chill the dish in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight until the quince halves are set.
Baked Ayva Tatlisi
Poaching is the traditional way to cook this dessert, but you can also finish it in the oven.
Place the poached quince halves in a baking dish with the syrup. Bake them at 180° C - 356° F for about 30 minutes, until the tops caramelize and turn sticky but soft.
Let the baked quince halves cool and chill before serving, just like the poached version.
Recipe Tips From the Chef
- Buy firm, fragrant quinces with no bruises. The fruit carries the whole dessert, so pick the best ones you can find.
- Use a sharp knife for coring. The raw flesh is very hard, and a dull knife can slip.
- Quince flesh browns quickly once cut. If the halves need to wait, keep them in a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Keep the seeds in the pan. They give the syrup its deep red color and thicken it at the same time. If you peel your quinces, add the peels to the pan too.
- Cook the fruit on a low heat and give it the full hour. If you rush it on a high heat, the fruit stays pale and the syrup gets thin.
- Let the quinces cool completely before you add the kaymak, or it will melt into the syrup.
- Serve it chilled. The texture and flavor are at their best straight from the fridge.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
You can cook Ayva Tatlisi a day or two ahead and keep it in the fridge until you need it. Chill the halves in their syrup, and add the kaymak and pistachios just before serving.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Keep some of the syrup spooned over the fruit so it does not dry out.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Ayva Tatlisi chilled, with kaymak or whipped cream on top and a handful of crushed pistachios or walnuts. Some people add a sprinkle of cinnamon or a drizzle of honey as well.
In Turkey it usually comes at the end of dinner with a cup of Turkish Coffee or a glass of Turkish Tea - Çay.
Recipe FAQs
If you like baking with fall fruit, my Plum Cake Recipe is another easy one to try.
The color comes from the quince seeds and from slow cooking. If the fruit cooks too fast or the seeds were thrown away, the halves stay pale. Some recipes deepen the color with hibiscus or a splash of pomegranate juice, but a slow simmer with the seeds in the pan is usually enough.
Cooking time depends on the size and ripeness of the fruit. Large or slightly unripe quinces can take up to an hour and a half. Keep them on a low heat with the lid on and check with a knife. They are ready when the tip slides in easily.
Ayva Tatlısı is traditionally made with quince, but the same method works with apples or pears. They are softer than quince, so they cook faster and will not turn the same deep red.
The dessert itself is vegan and naturally gluten free, since it is only fruit, sugar, water, and spices. Kaymak is dairy, so leave it off or use a plant-based cream for a vegan serving.
Related Recipes
For more scrumptious Turkish dessert recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this scrumptiously soft and fruity Turkish Quince Dessert - Ayva Tatlisi as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
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Ayva Tatlisi
Ingredients
- 3 medium quince
- 1 ¾ cups water (450 ml)
- 1 cup caster or granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 1 tablespoon pistachio and/or a dollop of kaymak to serve
Instructions
- To prepare the quinces, cut them in half and remove the seeds and cores. Peeling the quinces is optional and I usually leave them on.
- Place the quince halves in a pan along with the sugar, water, quince seeds, cinnamon sticks and/or cloves.
- Bring the pan to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat and let the quince halves simmer gently with a lid on for about an hour, or until the quinces are tender and pink.
- After cooking the quinces, take them out of the syrup and transfer them to a serving dish. Discard the cinnamon stick and cloves and let the quinces cool down completely before serving.
- After the quince halves have cooled down, transfer them to a serving dish and pour some of the syrup over them.
- Chill the dish in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight until the quince halves are set.
- Serve the ayva tatlisi chilled, garnished with crushed pistachios or /and Turkish clotted cream "Kaymak".
Baked Ayva Tatlisi (Optional)
- Place the poached quince halves in a baking dish along with the syrup.
- Bake them at 180° C - 356° F for about 30 minutes, until the tops caramelize and turn sticky but soft.
- Let the baked quince halves cool and chill before serving, just like the poached version.
Notes
- Buy firm, fragrant quinces with no bruises. The fruit carries the whole dessert, so pick the best ones you can find.
- You do not have to peel the quinces. The skins soften in the syrup as the fruit cooks.
- Use a sharp knife for coring. The raw flesh is very hard, and a dull knife can slip.
- If the cut halves need to wait, keep them in a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice so they do not brown.
- Keep the seeds in the pan. They give the syrup its deep red color and thicken it at the same time. If you peel your quinces, add the peels to the pan too.
- Cook the fruit on a low heat and give it the full hour. Rushed cooking leaves the fruit pale and the syrup thin. Large or unripe quinces can take up to 90 minutes.
- Let the quinces cool completely before you add the kaymak, or it will melt into the syrup.
- For a baked finish, place the poached halves in a baking dish with the syrup and bake at 180° C - 356° F for about 30 minutes, until the tops caramelize.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, with some syrup spooned over so the fruit does not dry out. It tastes even better the next day.
- The dessert is vegan and gluten free without the kaymak. Apples or pears work with the same method, but they cook faster and will not turn the same deep red.
Christina says
This looks so good, definitely trying as soon as I get hold of some quinces. Thank you for the recipe!