Walk down Wilmslow Road in the leafy suburb of Didsbury and you’ll find the air is perfumed with the scent of pistachio, rose and oranges. This heady smell wafts out from the village’s newest food addition, a sweet parlour and brunch spot serving up an authentic taste of Turkey.
A love letter to his home, owner Tekin Akdulum wanted to bring a new concept to Manchester, one that specialises in traditional Turkish desserts - from baklava and Turkish delight to Maras dondurma - a classic ice cream with a distinct chewy texture. Although it only opened only a few weeks ago, Turkish Sweet Centre has already become a hit on social media with TikTok videos panning along its mesmerising sweet counter filled with daily specials.
A sight to behold, its glass-fronted display cabinet boasts a vast array of sweet treats, progressing from golden-hued trays of freshly baked baklava glistening in the light, to sugar-coated Turkish delight spanning every colour of the rainbow, and slabs of layer cake delivered direct from Turkey.
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Behind it is an in-house grocery stocked full of imported Turkish goods from cold-pressed olive oils and organic coffee to black teas from the northeast Rize region of Turkey.
“I opened our first branch in Bradford two years ago after having a wholesale business,” Tekin tells me over a cup of Turkish tea. “I had this idea because so many people from the UK are going to Turkey at the moment - last year three million visited from the UK."
Tragically, earlier this week, two huge earthquakes and a series of aftershocks hit Turkey and neighbouring Syria, killing more than 25,000 people. While Tekin’s parents live in the east of the country and his brother in Istanbul, he has family in Adiyaman - a city just a few hours from where the first earthquake hit on February 6 - the place where he called home until the age of seven.
Before he flies over to Turkey next week to touch base with his extended family, he gives us a tour of the dessert parlour, pointing out features you might miss should you be firmly concentrated on the aforementioned display cabinet. Taking a seat in the main cafe space, complete with grey banquettes seating, iznik tiles, marble table-tops and decorative frames and artworks from central Turkey, he explains the origins of some of the country's most famous desserts.
"A lot of the desserts are made in a workshop in London, and delivered three to four times a week. The Turkish delight comes direct from Turkey, but the baklava and cakes are made down south by a Turkish chef. A lot of the ingredients are very simple - wheat flour, eggs, salt, sugar and lots of pistachio."
Traditional Turkish baklava is made using a phyllo dough, finely crushed pistachios, butter and a simple sugar syrup. The varieties sold by Tekin use only Turkish pistachios, which he claims are the best. "We have lots of pistachio trees in Turkey - you can smell it how good they are, they're more green and just delicious.
"Some factories use machinery but we make all our baklava by hand. It's a very hard, very manual job, lots of layers are rolled out and topped with pistachios and sugar."
At Turkish Sweet Centre, there are a number of variations from classic and triangle shaped to Carrot slice baklava and midye, the latter of which is made with a kaymak cream filling. Its shape, as it's name suggest resembles a mussel, or if you have come across one before, a courgette flower.
"Our birthday cakes, meanwhile, are made in a Turkish style, so not of much cream. The UK has too much cream for us. The main thing we use in our cakes is corn starch, wheat starch, sugar, pistachio buts, almonds, or crushed pistachios."
The baklava and cakes are served with a traditional Turkish ice cream known as Maras dondurma, which Tekin says is quite different to the western-style ice creams. Dondurma was first made in the Kahramanmaraş region of Turkey centuries ago, and is sweet, creamy, stretchy and chewy. Its stretchy texture can be attributed to the inclusion of a starchy root of orchards called salep.
Best accompanied by a Turkish tea or coffee, behind the counter a wall lined with tea pots, ibriks or cezves - long-handled pots with a special pouring lip designed to made traditional coffee - await, and much like the cakes and sweets, Tekin has created an authentic experience here too. While tea comes from the tea plants in North East Turkey, the coffee beans are from Brazil, but brewed Turkish style - with the grounds left in when served.
While there's also caramel tres leches cake - A Turkish take on a Mexican dessert made with sponge soaked in milk syrup, topped with light and airy whipped cream and a layer of buttery caramel - and kunefe, a crispy, cheese-filled dessert with buttery pastry, there's also an extensive breakfast menu.
The classic Turkish breakfast plate comes served with bread, halal Turkish sausage known as sucuk, halloumi, eggs, olives, three types of Turkish cheese, a savoury sesame ring, an impressive array of sweet condiments and a complimentary cup of tea. Room for more? Tekin has also created vegan and vegetarian options, plus a number of meze dishes as well as moussaka, a Turkish scrambled egg dish with tomato, green peppers and spices, and special Turkish toasts.
Not only is Turkish Sweet Centre an emporium for classic sweet treats and savoury classics, but a homage to Tekin's roots and Turkey's strong culinary pedigree. It's hard to miss it as you walk down Wilmslow Road - given the array of beautiful scents wafting from the front door - and it's well worth popping inside, especially if you have a sweet tooth.
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