Traditional güllaç — the Turkish dessert with thin sheets, milk and pomegranate

Güllaç is a traditional Turkish dessert originating in Ottoman cuisine, prepared with thin starch sheets soaked in sweetened milk flavoured with rose water. As the free encyclopedia Wikipedia also describes, güllaç contains walnuts between the layers and is served cold, often decorated with pomegranate seeds — which is why it is consumed especially during the month of Ramadan, as a light dessert after iftar.

This recipe is adapted from the traditional description of the dish and is easy to prepare at home with simple ingredients.

INGREDIENTS (serves 6–8):
– 10 güllaç sheets (thin starch sheets)
– 1.5 litres of milk
– 400 g sugar (about 2 cups)
– 1 teaspoon rose water (optional)
– 150 g crushed walnuts
– 1 pomegranate (seeds only)
– 2 tablespoons ground pistachios, for decoration
– A little cinnamon for decoration (optional)

PREPARATION STEPS:
1. Put the milk and sugar in a large pot; heat over medium heat, stirring continuously until the sugar dissolves completely, without letting the milk boil hard.
2. Remove the pot from the heat and let the milk cool until lukewarm (not hot); add the rose water.
3. Place one güllaç sheet in a deep tray and pour several spoonfuls of lukewarm milk over it, until the sheet softens completely.
4. Sprinkle a layer of crushed walnuts on top. Repeat the same with the other sheets, soaking each with milk and adding walnuts between the layers.
5. Finally pour the remaining milk over all the layers, cover the tray and let the dessert rest for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, so the sheets absorb the milk.
6. Before serving, decorate with the pomegranate seeds, ground pistachios and a little cinnamon. Serve cold.

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes + 2 hours resting in the refrigerator.
SERVINGS: 6–8 people.