Kazandibi is a traditional milk pudding made with butter, milk, cream, sugar, starch, and flavorings such as vanilla or ground mastic gum. The name "Kazandibi" refers to the "burnt bottom of the cauldron" that it is cooked in. Same as Sutlac - Turkish Rice Pudding and Keskul - Turkish Almond Pudding, this delicious Turkish dessert is developed in the kitchens of the Ottoman Palace and is one of the most popular Turkish desserts today.
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This delicious Turkish burnt milk pudding is similar to creme brûlée or caramelized milk pudding. Legend has it that when this pudding was cooked in a cauldron over an open flame, the bottom and sides would become caramelized, almost burnt. Once most of the pudding was served, the scooped-out parts from the bottom of the cauldron were consumed burnt-side up as a secondary dessert.
Why This Recipe Works?
- You only need a few ingredients for this simple yet delicious custard dessert.
- The leftovers would keep for up to five days when refrigerated in an airtight container.
- You can prepare Kazandibi pudding a couple of days in advance and portion it just before serving.
- The addition of double cream to this traditional Turkish recipe makes it more silky and creamy.
- It is very easy to make this burnt milk pudding with step-by-step pictures and a short video in the recipe card below.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Milk - I prefer full-fat milk for milk-based desserts but you can substitute it with semi-skimmed or skimmed milk.
- Cream - Although it is not a traditional ingredient for Kazandibi, double cream or heavy cream helps this custard dessert to have a rich&creamy texture.
- Starch - Same as rice flour, it is used for thickening the pudding.
- Sugar - I use caster sugar or granulated sugar. Adjust the amount to your taste.
- Mastic gum - You can buy it from Middle Eastern shops or online from Amazon. Substitute it with vanilla paste.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Making Kazandibi is very easy and straightforward. However, you need to follow a few simple steps and tips to achieve the best results:
Prepare the Custard
In a mortar and pestle add 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the mastic, and crush them well. Set it aside.
Place ¾ of the milk, cream, and sugar in a pan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Mix the rest of the milk with cornflour and starch in a bowl and turn it into a slurry.
Add the slurry into boiling milk and stir continuously to avoid it clumping until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove the pan from the heat, add the mastic (or vanilla paste) along with the butter, and whisk.
Caramelize / Burn the Custard
Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of sugar to cover the bottom of a heatproof glass tray or metal pan. I used a tray the size of 30 cm x 21 cm (12" x 8") but you can use a smaller size if you want your pudding thicker.
Spread ¼ of the pudding over the sugar, place the tray over high heat and rotate it continuously so all the areas are exposed to the heat evenly. Cook it for 10 to 15 minutes or until the sugar is caramelized and the bottom of the dessert becomes rich, golden brown. You can help spread it by gently using a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon.
When you've achieved the desired color, remove the tray from the heat. Add the rest of the pudding on top of the caramelized custard. Let it cool down to room temperature before refrigerating it overnight, or a minimum of 6 hours.
Before serving, you can either cut the Kazandibi into squares or make longer strips and roll them gently as you put them on the serving plate. Garnish with cinnamon powder or nuts for extra flavor!
Top Tip From The Chef
The tray or pan that you will use to prepare the burnt pudding should be heat resistant. Using a pyrex will be useful to check the bottom easily. You should continuously move the tray or pan around to have the caramelization equal all around without burning it.
A touch of brown will be enough and you can always sprinkle on some cinnamon powder if there are imperfections. It will still taste delicious!
Recipe FAQs
Kazandibi was traditionally made by burning the bottom of chicken breast pudding (a type of Muhallebi - Mahalabia Dessert), dating back to Ottomans palace kitchens. It has evolved over the years and now it is made of butter, milk, rice flour, sugar, starch, and flavorings such as vanilla, or ground mastic gum.
The leftovers of this Turkish dessert Kazandibi would keep for up to five days when refrigerated. I don't recommend freezing this pudding.
Mastic is an aromatic ingredient that is used in ice cream, cookies, coffee, and puddings in Turkish cuisine. It is from mastic trees that grow in the Aegean region and has been used as a medicine since the Medieval ages as it is a perfect antiseptic.
Related Recipes
For more delicious pudding 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 Turkish dessert "Kazandibi" as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!
Kazandibi
Equipment
Ingredients
- 800 ml full-fat milk (whole milk)
- 200 ml double cream or heavy cream
- 45 g wheat starch
- 45 g cornflour
- 200 g sugar
- 1 g mastic gum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste (optional)
- 20 g unsalted butter
- cinnamon powder (to garnish)
Instructions
Preparing the Custard
- In a mortar and pestle add 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the mastic, and crush them well. Set it aside.
- Place ¾ of the milk, cream and sugar in a pan and bring it to a boil over medium heat.
- Mix the rest of the milk with cornflour and starch in a bowl and turn it into a slurry.
- Add the slurry into boiling milk and stir continuously to avoid it clumping until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
- Remove the pan from the heat, add the mastic (or vanilla paste) along with the butter, and whisk.
Caramelising the Custard
- Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of sugar to cover the bottom of a heatproof glass tray or metal pan. I used a tray the size of 30 cm x 21 cm (12" x 8") but you can use a smaller size if you want your pudding thicker.
- Spread ¼ of the pudding over the sugar, place the tray over high heat and rotate it continuously so all the areas are exposed to the heat evenly.
- Cook it for 10 to 15 minutes or until the sugar is caramelized and the bottom of the dessert becomes a rich, golden brown. You can help spread it by gently using a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon.
- When you've achieved the desired colour, remove the tray from the heat. Add the rest of the pudding on top of the caramelised custard.
- Let it cool down to room temperature before refrigerating it overnight, or a minimum of 6 hours.
- Before serving, you can either cut the Kazandibi into squares or make longer strips and roll them gently as you put them on the serving plate.
- Garnish with cinnamon powder or nuts for extra flavour!
Video
Notes
- This delicious Turkish dessert is developed in the kitchens of the Ottoman Palace and is one of the most popular Turkish desserts today.
- The tray or pan that you will use to prepare the burnt pudding should be heat resistant. Using a pyrex will be useful to check the bottom easily.
- To burn the custard, spread ¼ of the pudding over the sugar, place the tray over high heat and rotate it continuously so all the areas are exposed to the heat evenly.
- When you've achieved the desired color, remove the tray from the heat. Let it cool down to room temperature before refrigerating it.
- Cut the Kazandibi into squares or make longer strips and roll them gently as you put them on the serving plate.
- A touch of brown will be enough and you can always sprinkle on some cinnamon powder if there are imperfections.
Nutrition
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Angela
I had never tried it before and I really loved it so I'm gonna add it to my list of regular desserts.
Daphne
This turned out absolutely amazing!! My family loved it. So so good!
Pam
I do love a light and flavorful dessert like this one! Perfect for BBQ parties too!