Ayva Tatlısı belongs to Turkey’s cold-weather fruit desserts and is also recorded in Bursa’s regional cooking. Recipes vary: some finish the fruit in the oven, while others poach it slowly on the stove. This version follows the latter approach and uses the washed peels in the pan. Kaymak and walnuts provide the familiar creamy, crunchy finish.
Ayva Tatlısı — Recipe Card
Slow-poached quince with kaymak and walnuts
Makes 6 servings · Makes 6 portions: one quince half with kaymak and walnuts per person.US cup = 240 ml · tablespoon = 15 ml · teaspoon = 5 ml. Cup and weight conversions are approximate. Australian cooks: use a 15 ml measuring tablespoon.
Ingredient quantities and servings are scaled. Cooking times, pan sizes, frying oil depth, and temperatures stay the same; cook larger batches as needed.
Ingredients
How to make Ayva Tatlısı
Prepare the quinces
Rinse and rub the quinces under running water before cutting. On a stable board, halve each fruit lengthways, peel it and carefully remove the tough core and every seed. Keep the clean peels; discard the cores and seeds. Lay the peels in a heavy, wide saucepan with a close-fitting lid, then arrange the 6 halves snugly above them, hollow sides up, in one layer.
Let the sugar draw out juice
Divide the 180 g sugar equally over the halves, about 30 g per half. Cover and leave for 60 minutes at room temperature. The sugar will become damp as the quinces release some juice; it does not need to dissolve completely at this stage.
Poach very gently
Add 360 ml (1½ US cups) of the measured water and the 3 cloves. Reserve the remaining 120 ml (½ US cup). Bring just to a gentle simmer, cover and turn the heat very low. Cook for 2–2½ hours, checking every 25–30 minutes. Spoon syrup over the fruit and gently turn the halves once halfway through, returning them hollow sides up. If the pan is drying, add the reserved water hot, 15–30 ml (1–2 tbsp) at a time. Keep a little liquid in the bottom; do not let the sugar scorch. The fruit is ready when a thin knife slips through easily, even if its colour stays pale.
Finish the syrup
Lift the tender halves into a shallow heatproof container. Strain the liquid into a small pan and discard the peels and cloves. If it is watery, simmer uncovered for 3–5 minutes until it lightly coats a spoon; stop before it becomes sticky caramel. If it is too thick, loosen it with a little of the unused water. Spoon the warm syrup over the quinces.
Cool and chill
Let the steam subside for about 30 minutes, then refrigerate the shallow container at 4°C (40°F) or below. Do not leave the cooked dessert out for more than 2 hours in total, or 1 hour if the room is above 32°C (90°F). Chill for at least 90 minutes, or until the fruit is cold. Keep the kaymak refrigerated separately.
Add the topping and serve
Set one cold quince half on each plate with a little syrup. Divide the 150 g kaymak and 30 g walnuts between the 6 portions, placing the cream in the hollows and sprinkling the walnuts over it. Add the toppings just before serving.
Bring this recipe to your kitchen with a printable copy.
Print recipeRecipe from MyTurkishRecipes · https://myturkishrecipes.com/turkish-quince-dessert-ayva-tatlisi. Quantities reflect your selected serving scale. Cooking times are estimates; follow the doneness cues.
A few helpful kitchen notes
Fruit and colour
Choose sound, fragrant quinces that are firm, without mould or deep bruises. Slow cooking may produce amber, pink or rose-coloured fruit depending on the quince. Do not keep cooking a tender half merely to force a darker colour.
Pan and syrup
A snug single layer and a well-fitting lid limit evaporation. The ingredient list includes 480 ml water in total: 360 ml goes in first and up to 120 ml is held back. You may not need all the reserve. This is a spoonable dessert, not a shelf-stable preserve.
Kaymak alternative
Plain unsweetened clotted cream is the closest practical substitute here; use the same weight. Add it to cold fruit so it stays thick. Pistachios or almonds can replace the walnuts by weight, but the photographed version uses walnuts.
Dietary notes
The listed base recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free when made with the specified gluten-free-labelled, gelatin-free kaymak or clotted cream and plain walnuts. Contains milk and walnuts. Check product labels and any substituted toppings; no cross-contact guarantee is implied.
How to store and reheat Ayva Tatlısı
Keep the quinces with their syrup in a covered shallow container at 4°C (40°F) or below and eat within 2 days. Store the pasteurized kaymak separately and follow its use-by date and any shorter after-opening limit. Refrigerate promptly after the brief cooling step; the 2-hour limit, or 1 hour above 32°C (90°F), includes serving time. Add cream and walnuts only to the portions being served. Serve chilled; reheating is unnecessary.
Ayva Tatlısı: questions and answers
Why did my quinces stay yellow or amber?
Colour varies with the fruit and the cooking conditions. If a thin knife passes through easily, they are done. Pink is welcome but not a doneness test, and this recipe does not use colouring.
Can I prepare the dessert the day before?
Yes. Refrigerate the cooled quinces in their syrup, with the cream and walnuts kept separately. Serve within the 2-day storage window and the cream’s own use-by limit.
Can I replace quince with apples or pears?
They soften at different speeds and may collapse during this long poach. Use quinces for Ayva Tatlısı; apples or pears need a separately adjusted cooking method.
