Tel kadayıf tatlısı (kadaif and nut pastry)
- Sep 9, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: May 10
Tel kadayıf tatlısı is a dessert that’s popular in Cyprus and, like ekmek kadayıfı, is often made on special occasions such as Bayram (Eid). Pronounced 'tehl kah-dah-yuf', it feels light to eat with its delicate layers of soft wispy pastry and chopped nuts.
By brushing the layers of pastry generously with melted butter, it gives the dessert a rich flavour which pairs perfectly with the fragrant rose syrup. We use a blend of almonds and walnuts in the centre and top with pistachios for a lovely contrast in flavour and texture between the layers.
Although often described as shredded filo pastry, tel (meaning ‘wire’) kadayıf was traditionally made using a perforated tin to drizzle long thin strings of batter over a hot saç (a concave metal pan). The pan would be placed over cooling coals so that it wouldn’t be too hot, cooking the pastry gently. Tel kadayıf is used across Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries to make syrup-based desserts, including künefe/knafeh. More recently it has gained popularity in Dubai chocolate bars.
For alternative syrup-based desserts, try şamali (semolina and syrup cake), sütlü börek (semolina custard filled syrup pastry) or şerbetli katmer (syrup and nut pastry).
Cooking tips
You will need to separate the tel kadayıf pastry gently by hand before layering in the oven pan. This prevents clumps from forming and helps the pastry bake more uniformly, creating a lighter texture.
When adding the tel kadayıf pastry, spread the strands loosely into place. Avoid pressing firmly, as overly compressed strands can prevent the pastry from baking evenly and crisping properly.
Using a pastry brush to add the melted butter helps coat the tel kadayıf strands gently and evenly, while also working the butter between the layers. This is preferable to mixing/rubbing by hand, as the fine pastry strands can break apart easily. The butter should be warm rather than hot, as hot butter can soften the pastry too quickly and cause it to fall apart.
Rose water should only be added to the syrup once it has cooled to room temperature, otherwise some of its delicate floral aroma can evaporate off.
The syrup should cool fully to room temperature before being poured over the hot pastry. This helps the tel kadayıf absorb the syrup gradually while still keeping some crispness in the outer layers. It will become soggy if you pour hot syrup over the pastry.
Ideally, the pastry would be left covered overnight to give the syrup enough time to soak fully into the tel kadayıf pastry layers. To help with timings, a suggestion would be to make the syrup in the morning to give it time to cool and the baked pastry in the evening.
If the top of the pastry begins to brown too quickly during baking, loosely cover the tray with foil for the remaining cooking time.
Some other recipes use less syrup with a higher sugar content to make the pastry crispy throughout, unlike the soft, fluffy texture with our recipe. If you prefer tel kadayıf tatlısı even more syrupy, you can add 200g more sugar and 250ml more water to the syrup ingredients, before following the same instructions below to make it. However, be mindful that it will be a touch sweeter and softer in texture.
Rather than rectangles, you can shape tel kadayıf as long rolls of pastry, or use round-bottomed tea cups to create dome-like structures. However, these are a bit more fiddly and time-consuming to make. We prefer to cut the pastry into rectangles and shape this way as it makes things easier.
Ingredient notes
We use freshly made tel kadayıf pastry for this recipe which is available in most Cypriot and Turkish food stores and bakeries. Using long-life tel kadayıf pastry may require adjustments to cooking times as it is usually drier.
Orange blossom water can be used instead of rose water if preferred.
Unsalted butter is recommnended so the pastry remains delicately sweet with no savoury notes.
Makes 24 pieces | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 45 minutes for the syrup | Baking time: 1 hour for the pastry | Additional time: To cool the syrup to room temperature and for the pastry to absorb the syrup overnight
For best results, see our cooking tips above.
Ingredients
For the syrup | |
800g white sugar | 2x 5cm strips of a cinnamon quill (break up the quill to get the individual strips) |
1.5L water | 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice |
8 cloves | 4 tbsp rose water |
For the pastry | |
500g fresh tel kadayıf (available from most Turkish food stores) | 200g chopped almonds |
100g chopped walnuts | 150g unsalted butter, melted (plus extra for greasing) |
For serving | |
50-100g finely chopped pistachios | |
Hob heat settings
Method
For the syrup
Mix the sugar, water, cinnamon and cloves in a large saucepan until the sugar fully dissolves. Place on a high heat while loosely covered until there is a rolling simmer - about 15-20 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice and continue to simmer while loosely covered for 25-30 minutes more, or until the syrup thickens slightly and goes light brown in colour. Allow the syrup to cool completely to room temperature before adding the rose water and mix well.
For the pastry
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4.
Melt the butter over a medium-low heat so that it is warm rather than hot. Gently pull apart the tel kadayıf little by little so that it is fully separated out into loose strands, without breaking them. Spread half of the tel kadayıf evenly across the bottom of a greased D5xW30xL40cm oven pan and gently brush all over with half the warm melted butter.
Next, evenly scatter over all the nuts.
Lay the remaining tel kadayif over the nuts and gently brush the pastry all over with the remaining melted butter.
Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until lightly browned on top.
Ladle the syrup (at room temperature) all over the hot tel kadayıf pastry and cover loosely with a tea tray and tea towel. Leave the pastry to cool and absorb the syrup for a few hours (preferably overnight).
Cut into 24 rectangular pieces and serve at room temperature or chilled, sprinkled with some chopped pistachios on each piece.
Serving and storage
Tel kadayıf tatlısı is traditionally served at room temperature once the syrup has fully soaked into the pastry. This gives it a lighter, fluffier texture, but you will need to eat it within a day.
Storing tel kadayıf tatlısı in the fridge keeps it fresher for longer, but it will be firmer. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days, but the pastry will gradually soften over time as it continues to absorb the syrup.. You would ideally allow the pastry to come to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavour.
Tel kadayıf tatlısı is not suitable for freezing as this will change the texture of the pastry.
