Course
25 Greek Desserts
Syrup-soaked pastries, spoon sweets, custards and cookies. Greek desserts lean on honey, semolina, nuts and citrus far more than on chocolate or cream.
Greek desserts lean on honey, semolina, nuts and citrus far more than on chocolate or cream. A large share of them are soaked in syrup: baklava, galaktoboureko, walnut spice cake, portokalopita, semolina syrup cake. The syrup is where they are won or lost, and each recipe says how hot the pastry and the syrup should be when they meet.
Then there are the cookies, baked by the tray for the feasts: melomakarona and kourabiedes at Christmas, koulourakia at Easter. Loukoumades are honey puffs, fried and served within minutes. Cyprus adds mahalepi, a chilled milk pudding, and almonds on a string dipped in grape must.
If you have never made a syrup cake, start with the walnut spice cake. It is one of the most forgiving.
Every recipe on Kalliopi's Kitchen carries the dish's Greek name and a pronunciation, its region where that is meaningful, ingredient quantities in both metric and imperial, and an honest note on what commonly goes wrong. Nutrition figures are calculated estimates and are labelled as such.
1. Baklava
Baklavas · Μπακλαβάς · bahk-lah-VAHS
The one everybody thinks they know. The Greek version is walnuts, not pistachios, with a heavy hand of cinnamon and clove and a syrup built on honey. Nothing in it is difficult. The layering takes as long as it takes, and the syrup decides whether you end up with crisp or soggy.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not stir the syrup once it boils. Stirring a boiling sugar syrup encourages crystallisation. Dissolve the sugar as it heats, then leave it alone.
Make Baklava2. Loukoumades
Λουκουμάδες · loo-koo-MAH-des
Possibly the oldest dessert Europe still eats: honey tokens much like them went to the winners of the ancient games. The batter is wetter than any dough you could handle, and that water becomes the steam that blows the middle hollow. They do not keep. Within twenty minutes of the fryer they are soft.
Yiayia’s tip: Keep the spoons wet. The batter sticks ferociously to anything dry. A bowl of water beside the pan, and dipping the spoons between every single puff, is the difference between this being easy and being maddening.
Make Loukoumades3. Galaktoboureko
Γαλακτομπούρεκο · gha-lahk-toh-BOO-reh-koh
Baklava is more famous. This is the one that people raised on both ask for: a thick custard scented with lemon, shut inside phyllo, with cold syrup poured over the hot pie. Semolina sets the custard firm enough to cut clean. The phyllo is simpler than baklava, only two blocks of layers.
Yiayia’s tip: Rain the semolina, do not dump it. Adding it all at once guarantees lumps. A thin steady stream with constant whisking gives a smooth custard first time.
Make Galaktoboureko4. Melomakarona
Μελομακάρονα · meh-lo-mah-KAH-ro-nah
Every Greek household bakes these at Christmas and every household argues about them: how much orange, brandy or no brandy, soft all the way through or a little bite left in the middle. They have no butter and no eggs, and they are better on day three than on day one, so make them ahead.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not knead. Fold the dough until it just holds together and stop. Kneaded dough makes tough cookies that will not absorb syrup.
Make Melomakarona5. Kourabiedes
Κουραμπιέδες · koo-rah-bee-EH-des
The other Christmas cookie, and the opposite of melomakarona in every way: almost pure butter and almond, baked pale, then buried in icing sugar. There is so little else in them that the butter you buy is the cookie you get. Nobody has ever eaten one tidily.
Yiayia’s tip: Pale, not golden. A browned kourabies is overbaked. They should look almost underdone when they come out, set but barely coloured.
Make Kourabiedes6. Cypriot Grape Must and Almond Candy
Soutzoukos · Σουτζιούκος · soo-JOO-kos
Almonds or walnuts are threaded on a string and dunked over and over in grape must cooked thick, each dip adding a layer until the coat is firm and chewy. Cyprus makes it in autumn, when there are fresh grapes. It has no refined sugar. The work is slow, not hard.
Yiayia’s tip: Reduce shop-bought grape juice first. Simmering it down by about a third before you start concentrates the flavour closer to genuine fresh must.
Make Cypriot Grape Must and Almond Candy7. Mahalepi
Μαχαλεπί · mah-hah-leh-PEE
A milk pudding set with cornflour and no eggs, which makes it a soft blancmange more than a custard. The Cypriot one takes a pinch of ground mastic, which leaves a faint resinous scent. It is eaten cold under a syrup of rose water or orange blossom. Hot-weather food, not for after a heavy meal.
Yiayia’s tip: Whisk the cornflour into cold milk first. Adding it directly to hot milk gives you a lumpy pudding no amount of stirring afterwards fixes.
Make Mahalepi8. Cyprus Delights, Rose and Mastic
Loukoumia · Λουκούμια · loo-KOO-mee-ah
Cyprus's own Turkish delight, flavoured with rose water and mastic, and the town of Geroskipou near Paphos has protected status for its style. It is patient work, not difficult work: a syrup, a cornflour paste, a long slow cook, then cubes rolled in icing sugar.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not stop cooking early. The long, slow cook is what sets the texture. A mixture that looks done at twenty minutes is not done.
Make Cyprus Delights, Rose and Mastic9. Cypriot Fresh Cheese with Honey
Anari me meli · Ανάρι με μέλι · ah-NAH-ree meh meh-LEE
Three things on a plate: anari, honey and crushed walnuts. Anari is the soft whey cheese left over from making halloumi, close to ricotta, mild, milky and faintly sweet. With so little there, a thyme honey with character does far more than a bland one. One of the oldest desserts in Cyprus.
Yiayia’s tip: Fresh, not dried anari. Dried anari is salted and firm, meant for grating over pasta. This dish specifically wants the soft, fresh, unsalted version.
Make Cypriot Fresh Cheese with Honey10. Koulourakia
Κουλουράκια · koo-loo-RAH-kee-ah
Baked in enormous batches before Easter, because they keep well and get eaten all through Easter week. The dough is a plain butter one with vanilla and orange zest, and baking it is the easy part. The time goes on shaping: ropes rolled by hand and twisted into spirals, braids and figure-eights, one by one.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not overwork the flour. Fold it in only until the dough comes together. Overworking it gives a tough, chewy cookie rather than a tender, short one.
Make Koulourakia11. New Year Cake with the Hidden Coin
Vasilopita · Βασιλόπιτα · vah-see-LOH-pee-tah
Named for Saint Basil and cut at New Year in a fixed order, with the first slices set aside before anyone eats. A coin is hidden inside, and whoever finds it is said to have the luck for the year. The cake itself is plain on purpose: orange-scented and only lightly sweet.
Yiayia’s tip: Tell everyone about the coin before cutting. It is essential both for the fun of the tradition and, more practically, so nobody bites down on it by surprise.
Make New Year Cake with the Hidden Coin12. Fried Honey Pastry
Diples · Δίπλες · THEE-ples
The name means folds. Paper-thin egg dough is twisted on a fork as it hits the oil, so it curls into a crisp ribbon, then it goes into honey syrup under walnuts and cinnamon. No single step is complicated. The rolling takes practice, and the frying leaves no time to hesitate.
Yiayia’s tip: Roll it thinner than feels right. Diples should be nearly translucent before frying. A thick sheet fries chewy rather than light and crisp.
Make Fried Honey Pastry13. Walnut Spice Cake
Karydopita · Καρυδόπιτα · kah-ree-THOH-pee-tah
A cake made mostly of ground walnuts, with only enough flour to hold it together, spiced with cinnamon and clove and soaked in syrup the moment it leaves the oven. It comes out dense, nutty and moist all the way through. Of the Greek syrup cakes, this is one of the hardest to get wrong.
Yiayia’s tip: Hot cake, cold syrup. One side hot and the other cold is the rule for every baked Greek syrup sweet. Make the syrup first and let it cool completely. Hot syrup on a hot cake leaves the crumb heavy and wet.
Make Walnut Spice Cake14. Portokalopita
Πορτοκαλόπιτα · por-toh-kah-LOH-pee-tah
A cake that does to phyllo everything phyllo is never supposed to suffer. The sheets are left out to dry, torn by hand into rough pieces and folded into a wet orange batter, where they soften and puff. Then orange syrup goes over. No rolling, no layering, and the pieces should be coin-sized, not crumbs.
Yiayia’s tip: Really let the phyllo dry out fully. Sheets that are still even slightly pliable do not shred properly and give a denser, less characteristic texture.
Make Portokalopita15. Sesame and Honey Bars
Pasteli · Παστέλι · pah-STEH-lee
Ancient Greek writers mention this as food carried by athletes, and it has barely changed since: toasted sesame seeds bound in hot honey and pressed flat to set. No baking, and under half an hour. The honey must cook until properly thick or the bars stay soft. It keeps for weeks with no special storage.
Yiayia’s tip: Watch the sesame closely while toasting. It goes from perfectly toasted to burnt within moments. Stir constantly and pull it the second it smells fragrant.
Make Sesame and Honey Bars16. Cretan Sweet Cheese Hand Pies
Kalitsounia · Καλιτσούνια · kah-lee-TSOO-nyah
Hand pies from Crete filled with mizithra, a fresh, soft whey cheese, lightly sweetened. They are an Easter food that households make all year. Fried or baked is a family matter, not a rule: fried gives a richer crust with crisp edges, baked is lighter and keeps better. Honey goes on at the table.
Yiayia’s tip: Drain the cheese properly. A wet filling steams the dough apart from the inside. Twenty minutes minimum in a sieve or tea towel is worth the wait.
Make Cretan Sweet Cheese Hand Pies17. Corfu Almond Nougat
Mandolato · Μαντολάτο · man-doh-LAH-toh
Nougat made for Easter on Corfu, and a close relative of Italian torrone, which is the island's Venetian history showing. Cooked honey is whipped into stiff egg whites over low heat until thick, pale and glossy, then toasted almonds go in and it sets between sheets of rice paper. It tests patience more than skill.
Yiayia’s tip: Cook the honey to a real soft-ball stage. Undercooking it leaves the finished nougat soft and sticky rather than properly firm. A sugar thermometer removes the guesswork.
Make Corfu Almond Nougat18. Thessaloniki Custard Triangles
Trigona Panoramatos · Τρίγωνα Πανοράματος · TREE-goh-nah pah-noh-RAH-mah-tos
Named for Panorama, the hillside suburb above Thessaloniki where a few patisseries made their name on it and people still cross the city for it. Phyllo cones are fried crisp, dipped for seconds in light syrup and filled with vanilla custard. Fill them close to serving. The shell goes soft inside an hour or two.
Yiayia’s tip: Chill the custard properly. It needs to be genuinely thick and cold before filling, or it will soak straight through the fried shell rather than sitting inside it.
Make Thessaloniki Custard Triangles19. Eggless Spice Cake for Saint Fanourios
Fanouropita · Φανουρόπιτα · fah-noo-ROH-pee-tah
Baked for Saint Fanourios, whose feast is the 27th of August, by people hoping to find something lost. Custom sets the number of ingredients, most often seven or nine, and has the cake given away in pieces. It has no eggs or dairy, so anyone fasting can share it. Dense, like a tea loaf.
Yiayia’s tip: Do not overwork the batter. There are no eggs here to give structure, so folding gently rather than beating hard keeps the crumb tender rather than tough.
Make Eggless Spice Cake for Saint Fanourios20. Rhodes Sesame and Honey Wedding Sweet
Melekouni · Μελεκούνι · meh-leh-KOO-nee
The wedding sweet of Rhodes, given to the guests and sometimes stamped with a pattern. It is close to pasteli, sesame bound in honey, but warmer and more aromatic because cinnamon and orange zest run through it, and it is cut into diamonds, not bars. Cut it while still slightly warm, or it cracks.
Yiayia’s tip: Remove the cinnamon and zest before adding sesame. You want their flavour infused into the honey, not large pieces left in the finished sweet.
Make Rhodes Sesame and Honey Wedding Sweet21. Yogurt Cake
Yiaourtopita · Γιαουρτόπιτα · yah-oor-TOH-pee-tah
A plain Sunday cake, not an occasion cake. Yogurt does the job of much of the fat and liquid, and its acidity works on the raising agents, so the crumb comes out lighter than expected, with a faint tang. It stays moist for days and forgives a nervous baker.
Yiayia’s tip: Use thick, full-fat yogurt. It gives real moisture and a slight tang that a thin, low-fat yogurt cannot replicate.
Make Yogurt Cake22. Apple Pie in Phyllo
Milopita · Μηλόπιτα · mee-LOH-pee-tah
Apple pie rebuilt on phyllo. Cinnamon-spiced apples sit between butter-brushed sheets, and the top shatters into shards where a Western pie has one solid crust. It is the spanakopita technique pointed at a sweet filling, and a good deal lighter than the pie you already know.
Yiayia’s tip: Cool the filling completely. A hot filling makes the phyllo soggy and difficult to layer properly.
Make Apple Pie in Phyllo23. Vegan Olive Oil Cookies
Ladokouloura · Λαδοκούλουρα · lah-thoh-KOO-loo-rah
Cookies made for Lent, when butter and eggs are both off the table. Olive oil does all the work of the fat and gives a crumbly, slightly dense cookie with a faint fruitiness that butter does not have. They were vegan long before anybody called it that.
Yiayia’s tip: Use a mild olive oil. A strong, peppery extra virgin can fight with the orange rather than sitting in the background as intended.
Make Vegan Olive Oil Cookies24. Semolina Halva
Halvas simigdalenios · Χαλβάς σιμιγδαλένιος · hal-VAHS see-meeg-thah-LEH-nyos
Remembered as a ratio, not a recipe: one part butter, two of sugar, three of semolina, four of water. No oven, no eggs. Hot syrup goes in off the heat, the lid goes on, and the semolina steams until it swells. Everything in it is already in the cupboard, which is why it gets made so often.
Yiayia’s tip: Toast the semolina properly. It should turn a shade darker and smell distinctly nutty. This is the single biggest contributor to the finished flavour.
Make Semolina Halva25. Semolina Syrup Cake
Ravani · Ραβανί · rah-vah-NEE
The syrup cake to start with if the technique makes you nervous. A sponge of semolina and flour with citrus zest, it has a lighter crumb than karydopita or portokalopita, and it is tied most closely to the north. One rule counts: cold syrup onto the hot cake. Then give it an hour before cutting.
Yiayia’s tip: Whisk the eggs and sugar properly. A genuine five minutes to pale, thick and tripled in volume is what gives ravani its lighter, more cake-like crumb compared with denser semolina cakes.
Make Semolina Syrup Cake
More Greek Desserts
27 more, 52 in all.
Sifnos Honey CheesecakeMelopita Sifnou Μελόπιτα ΣίφνουDesserts · 55m · serves 8
Quince Spoon SweetKydoni glyko Κυδώνι γλυκόDesserts · 2h 10m · serves 16
Sour Cherry Spoon SweetVyssino glyko Βύσσινο γλυκόDesserts · 1h 45m · serves 16
Peloponnese Dried Fig and Walnut BarsSykomaida ΣυκομαΐδαDesserts · 30m · serves 12
Bitter Orange Spoon SweetNerantzaki glyko Νεραντζάκι γλυκόDesserts · 2h 30m · serves 16
Candied Baby Aubergine Spoon SweetMelitzanaki glyko Μελιτζανάκι γλυκόDesserts · 2h 15m · serves 16
Almond MacaroonsAmygdalota ΑμυγδαλωτάDesserts · 50m · serves 12
Grape Must CookiesMoustokouloura ΜουστοκούλουραDesserts · 50m · serves 16
Custard Pie Without PhylloGalatopita ΓαλατόπιταDesserts · 1h · serves 8
Rice PuddingRizogalo ΡυζόγαλοDesserts · 50m · serves 6
KollyvaKollyva ΚόλλυβαDesserts · 2h 15m · serves 20
Walnut and Grape Must CandySoutzouki ΣουτζούκιDesserts · 2h · serves 10
Sesame and Honey BarPastelli ΠαστέλιDesserts · 25m · serves 12
KataifiKataifi ΚανταΐφιDesserts · 1h 15m · serves 12
Custard and Cream Kataifi CakeEkmek kataifi Έκμεκ κανταΐφιDesserts · 1h 15m · serves 10
KormosKormos ΚορμόςDesserts · 30m · serves 12Get one proper Greek recipe a week
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