Ingredients
Milk
- 2 litreswhole milk
- 400 gcaster sugar
- 2 tbsprosewater
Layers
- 8–10güllaç sheets (thin starch-and-wheat wafers, sold in packets)
- 200 gwalnuts, coarsely chopped and lightly toasted
To finish
- Seeds of 1 pomegranate
- 50 gpistachios, slivered
- Rose petals (optional)
- Kaymak or thick cream, to serve (optional)
Directions
- Warm the milk with the sugar in a wide pan, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and bring it to just below a simmer. Take it off the heat and let it cool to lukewarm – around 40°C (105°F), hand-warm.
- Stir in the rosewater at this point, off the heat, so its perfume is not driven off by steam.
- Choose a wide, shallow dish roughly the size of the güllaç sheets. Ladle a thin layer of the sweet milk into the base.
- Lay in one sheet and immediately ladle milk over it, pressing gently with the back of the ladle until it is fully wetted and begins to go translucent and floppy. Repeat with four more sheets, milk between each.
- Scatter the walnuts evenly over the fifth sheet, leaving a 2 cm border so the edges still seal.
- Continue with the remaining sheets, wetting each with milk as before, and pour over all the milk that is left. The sheets should be swimming – they will drink most of it as they sit.
- Press the surface lightly with your palm so no dry patches remain, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, until the wafers have completely softened into silky layers and the dessert holds a clean cut.
- Just before serving, cover the top with pomegranate seeds and slivered pistachios, cut into squares and serve cold, with a spoonful of kaymak if you like.
Technique
- Güllaç is a Ramadan dessert, eaten after iftar precisely because it is milk-light and contains no butter, cream or syrup – the lightest of the Turkish sweets.
- The milk must be lukewarm, not hot. Hot milk dissolves the starch wafers into paste; cold milk soaks in too slowly and leaves brittle patches.
- The name comes from gül, rose, and the sheets themselves are simply wheat starch and water dried into wafers – they have no flavour of their own and exist to carry the milk.
Substitutions
- Güllaç sheets have no true substitute; they are sold in Turkish shops year-round and online. Rice paper is the closest texture but tears and tastes different.
- Hazelnuts or ground pistachio can replace the walnuts, and orange-blossom water can stand in for rosewater.
Variations
- A version layered with pistachio instead of walnut, common in Gaziantep.
- Fruited güllaç, with a layer of poached quince or strawberry between the sheets.
History
An Ottoman palace sweet now made almost exclusively during Ramadan, its wafers sold only in that season.
Frequently asked questions
What is Gullac?
Gullac is a dessert from Turkey: sheets of starch wafer softened in sweet milk, layered with walnuts and rosewater. An Ottoman palace sweet now made almost exclusively during Ramadan, its wafers sold only in that season.
How long does Gullac take to make?
Gullac takes 30 min of preparation and 4 hr chilling of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Gullac?
Yes, within limits. Güllaç sheets have no true substitute; they are sold in Turkish shops year-round and online. Rice paper is the closest texture but tears and tastes different. Hazelnuts or ground pistachio can replace the walnuts, and orange-blossom water can stand in for rosewater.
What is the most important thing to get right in Gullac?
The milk must be lukewarm, not hot. Hot milk dissolves the starch wafers into paste; cold milk soaks in too slowly and leaves brittle patches.