Dessert
Kemalpaşa, Turkish Sweet Syrup-Soaked Cake, Soft and Chewy
Prep
30 min
Cook
30 min
Servings
5
Level
Medium
Kemalpaşa is a traditional Turkish cake made from a mixture of soft cheese and semolina, lightly fried and then soaked in a fragrant sweet sugar syrup. The texture is chewy on the outside yet soft on the inside, with a rich sweetness balanced by the savory cheese flavor—perfect as a relaxed dessert paired with warm tea. This recipe offers a halal, easy-to-make version you can whip up right in your own kitchen.
🧂 Ingredients
🍽️ Servings: 5
Adjust the servings and the ingredient amounts & nutrition below update automatically.
- 250 grams Cottage cheese/ricotta (or plain local cheese, mashed)
- 150 grams Semolina flour (fine tapioca starch or medium-protein all-purpose flour can be substituted)
- 3 tbsp All-purpose flour
- 1 Chicken egg
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tbsp Granulated sugar (for the batter)
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 500 ml Cooking oil (for frying)
- 400 grams Granulated sugar (for the syrup)
- 400 ml Water (for the syrup)
- 1 tsp Lemon/lime juice (for the syrup)
- to taste Ground cinnamon (optional, for sprinkling)
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👩🍳 Instructions
- 1 Make the syrup first so it has time to cool: cook the granulated sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
- 2 Once boiling, lower the heat and let the syrup simmer gently for 8-10 minutes until slightly thickened. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice, stir well, then set aside until completely cool (you can pop it in the fridge).
- 3 Prepare the cake batter: mash the cottage cheese/ricotta with a fork or push it through a sieve until smooth and lump-free.
- 4 In a bowl, combine the mashed cheese with the egg, granulated sugar, and salt. Stir until well mixed.
- 5 Add the semolina flour, all-purpose flour, and baking powder to the cheese mixture. Mix until you get a dough that can be shaped—not too soft and not too stiff. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes so the semolina can absorb the liquid.
- 6 Take about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball using hands lightly greased with oil so it doesn't stick. Repeat until all the dough is used, yielding about 15-18 small balls.
- 7 Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Make sure the oil isn't too hot so the inside of the cakes cooks through fully before the outside browns too much.
- 8 Fry the dough balls in small batches, flipping occasionally, until evenly golden on all sides, about 6-8 minutes per batch.
- 9 Remove the cooked cakes and drain briefly on paper towels to remove excess oil.
- 10 While the cakes are still warm, dip them right away into the prepared cold syrup. Soak for 2-3 minutes so the syrup soaks in fully.
- 11 Remove the cakes from the syrup and arrange on a serving plate. Sprinkle with a little ground cinnamon if you like, then serve warm or at room temperature.
💡 Tips
• Make sure the syrup is completely cold before dipping in the cakes, while the cakes are still warm—this temperature contrast is the key to letting the syrup soak in fully without making the cakes soggy.
• Use low-medium heat when frying so the inside of the cakes cooks evenly before the outer layer browns too much.
• If you can't find semolina flour, tapioca starch or medium-protein all-purpose flour can work as an alternative, though the texture will be slightly different.
• Store Kemalpaşa in a sealed container in the fridge, and it's best to enjoy them within 2-3 days for the best texture.
📊 Nutrition Facts / serving
230 kkal
Calories (kcal)
5 gramg
Protein
9 gramg
Fat
33 gramg
Carbs
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