14 Greek Desserts Beyond Baklava That Taste Like a Sunny Island Kitchen

Everyone knows baklava, but Greek desserts go so much further than that. Picture a Greek grandmother, a yiayia, pouring warm honey syrup over a cake straight from the oven while the whole family waits at the table. Greek sweets use simple, sunny ingredients: honey, walnuts, oranges, semolina, olive oil, yogurt and plenty of cinnamon. Some are for Christmas, some for Easter, and some are just for a lazy afternoon coffee. Ready for a sweet trip to the islands..

Loukoumades, the Honey Puffs of Greek Desserts

Loukoumades might be the oldest of all Greek desserts. Some food historians say little honey dough balls like these were given as prizes at the first Olympic Games. They are crispy on the outside and soft and airy inside, then drenched in warm honey syrup and topped with cinnamon and walnuts. Greek cafes serve them hot in big bowls for sharing. Be honest: could you really share them?

You will need: 2 cups flour, 1 packet yeast, 1 1/4 cups warm water, 1 tbsp sugar, pinch of salt, oil for frying, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup water, cinnamon, chopped walnuts.

How to make it: 1. Mix flour, yeast, warm water, sugar and salt into a sticky batter. 2. Cover and let it rise 1 hour until bubbly. 3. Drop spoonfuls into hot oil at 350F. 4. Fry until golden, about 3 minutes. 5. Warm the honey with water, pour over and top with cinnamon and walnuts.

Karidopita, the Walnut Cake of Greek Desserts

Karidopita is a moist walnut cake soaked in spiced syrup, and it smells like Christmas when it bakes. Ground walnuts and breadcrumbs or flour make it hearty, while cinnamon and cloves make it cozy. The syrup goes on while the cake is still warm, so every bite is juicy. Like many Greek desserts, it keeps well for days. Love nutty sweets? Try our pecan desserts too.

You will need: 2 cups ground walnuts, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 5 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, syrup of 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water and 2 tbsp honey.

How to make it: 1. Boil the syrup ingredients for 5 minutes and cool. 2. Beat eggs and sugar, then add oil. 3. Fold in walnuts, flour, baking powder and spices. 4. Bake in a greased pan at 350F for 40 minutes. 5. Pour the cool syrup over the hot cake and let it soak.

Koulourakia Easter Cookies

Koulourakia are buttery twisted cookies that Greek families make by the hundreds before Easter. Everyone sits around the table rolling ropes of dough and twisting them into braids, coils and little S shapes. A shiny egg wash and a sprinkle of sesame seeds finish them. They are not too sweet, so they are perfect for dunking in coffee or milk. Which shape would you make: A, braid, B, coil, or C, S shape?

You will need: 1 cup soft butter, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp orange zest, 4 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, egg wash, sesame seeds.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. 2. Add eggs, milk, vanilla and zest. 3. Mix in flour and baking powder to a soft dough. 4. Roll small ropes and twist into shapes. 5. Brush with egg, add sesame and bake at 350F for 15 to 18 minutes.

Kourabiedes, Snowy Greek Desserts for Christmas

Kourabiedes are the snowy almond butter cookies of Greek Christmas. They are made with toasted almonds and a lot of butter, then buried under powdered sugar while still warm. You cannot eat one without getting sugar all over your shirt, and that is part of the fun. Some families add a splash of brandy or rose water. They melt in your mouth like a cloud. Will you wear black when you eat them?

You will need: 1 cup soft butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup toasted chopped almonds, 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, lots of powdered sugar for coating.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter and sugar for 10 minutes until very pale. 2. Add yolk and vanilla. 3. Mix in almonds, flour and baking powder. 4. Shape into balls or crescents and bake at 350F for 18 minutes. 5. Cover in powdered sugar while warm.

Ravani Semolina Cake

Ravani is a light, sunny semolina cake soaked in lemon or orange syrup. The semolina gives it a lovely grainy texture that holds the syrup without getting soggy. It is cut into diamonds or squares and often topped with coconut or almonds. You will find it in almost every Greek bakery, called a zacharoplasteio. It is a great make ahead dessert because it tastes better the next day.

You will need: 1 cup semolina, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup oil, 4 eggs, 2 tsp baking powder, zest of 1 orange, syrup of 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water and lemon peel.

How to make it: 1. Make the syrup and cool it. 2. Beat eggs and sugar until thick. 3. Add yogurt, oil and zest. 4. Fold in semolina, flour and baking powder and bake at 350F for 35 minutes. 5. Pour cool syrup over the hot cake and cut into diamonds.

Portokalopita, Orange Phyllo Cake

Portokalopita is one of the most clever Greek desserts. Instead of flour, it uses dried, shredded phyllo pastry, which soaks up an orange yogurt custard and bakes into a golden, spongy cake. Then it gets a bath in orange syrup. It is a great way to use up leftover phyllo, and it tastes like sunshine. Quick question: do you like your cakes A, very syrupy, or B, just lightly soaked?

You will need: 1 lb phyllo dough, 4 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup Greek yogurt, 3/4 cup oil, zest and juice of 2 oranges, 2 tsp baking powder, orange syrup.

How to make it: 1. Tear the phyllo into pieces and let it dry for an hour. 2. Whisk eggs, sugar, yogurt, oil, zest, juice and baking powder. 3. Fold in the dried phyllo. 4. Bake at 350F for 40 to 45 minutes. 5. Pour cool orange syrup over the hot cake.

Bougatsa, the Breakfast Star of Greek Desserts

In Thessaloniki, people eat bougatsa for breakfast. It is a warm semolina custard wrapped in crackly, buttery phyllo, cut into squares and dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Its cousin galaktoboureko is soaked with syrup, but bougatsa stays crisp. Many shops open before sunrise just to serve it to early workers. It is one of those Greek desserts that makes waking up early worth it.

You will need: 10 sheets phyllo, 1/2 cup melted butter, 4 cups milk, 2/3 cup fine semolina, 2/3 cup sugar, 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, powdered sugar and cinnamon.

How to make it: 1. Cook milk, semolina and sugar until thick, then cool slightly and whisk in eggs and vanilla. 2. Layer 5 buttered phyllo sheets in a pan. 3. Spread the custard. 4. Top with 5 more buttered sheets and score. 5. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes and dust with sugar and cinnamon.

Greek Yogurt With Honey and Walnuts

Sometimes the simplest Greek desserts are the best. Thick, strained Greek yogurt topped with thyme honey and toasted walnuts is served in tavernas all over Greece, often for free after dinner. It is creamy, tangy, sweet and crunchy at the same time. Greek yogurt also brings protein, so it is a dessert you can feel good about. It takes two minutes. Could this be your new nightly treat?

You will need: 1 cup plain full fat Greek yogurt, 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp toasted walnuts, pinch of cinnamon, optional fresh figs or berries.

How to make it: 1. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 3 minutes. 2. Spoon the yogurt into a bowl or glass. 3. Drizzle with honey. 4. Add the walnuts and a pinch of cinnamon. 5. Top with fruit if you like and serve cold.

Rizogalo, Greek Rice Pudding

Rizogalo is Greek comfort in a bowl: short grain rice slowly cooked in milk with lemon peel and vanilla until thick and creamy. It is finished with a heavy dusting of cinnamon. Greek moms often make it for kids who are feeling under the weather, and it is just as good warm or cold. Poll: A, warm rice pudding, or B, cold from the fridge?

You will need: 1/2 cup short grain rice, 4 cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 strip lemon peel, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with a little milk, cinnamon.

How to make it: 1. Simmer the rice in 1 cup water until absorbed. 2. Add milk and lemon peel and cook gently for 30 minutes, stirring. 3. Stir in sugar and the cornstarch mix. 4. Cook 5 more minutes, then add vanilla. 5. Pour into bowls and dust with cinnamon.

Tsoureki, Sweet Easter Bread

Tsoureki is a soft, braided Greek Easter bread that pulls apart in long, feathery strands. Its special flavor comes from mahlepi, a spice made from cherry pits, and mastic, a resin from the island of Chios. A red dyed egg is often tucked into the braid as a symbol of Easter. It is wonderful toasted the next day with butter and honey. Have you ever baked with mahlepi?

You will need: 4 1/2 cups flour, 2 packets yeast, 3/4 cup warm milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 tsp ground mahlepi, 1/2 tsp ground mastic, orange zest, egg wash, sliced almonds.

How to make it: 1. Make a soft, sticky dough with all ingredients. 2. Rise until doubled, about 2 hours. 3. Divide in three ropes and braid. 4. Rise 1 hour and brush with egg, add almonds. 5. Bake at 350F for 30 to 35 minutes.

Pasteli, Sesame Honey Bars

Pasteli might be the easiest of all Greek desserts. It is just sesame seeds and honey cooked together, then spread thin and cut into bars. The ancient Greeks made something very similar, and it is still a popular snack on the islands today. It is crunchy, chewy and naturally sweet, and you can add almonds or pistachios. It makes a lovely little gift too.

You will need: 2 cups sesame seeds, 3/4 cup honey, 2 tbsp sugar, pinch of salt, optional 1/2 cup chopped almonds, zest of 1 orange.

How to make it: 1. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until golden. 2. Heat honey, sugar and salt until it bubbles, about 5 minutes. 3. Stir in seeds, nuts and zest. 4. Spread thin between sheets of parchment. 5. Cut into bars while warm and let them set.

Loukoumi From Syros

Loukoumi is the soft, chewy jelly candy known in English as Turkish delight, and the Greek island of Syros is famous for it. It comes in flavors like rose, bergamot, mastic and pistachio, all rolled in powdered sugar. Greeks often serve it with coffee to guests. It takes some stirring at the stove, but the result is a sweet, jewel like treat. Which flavor would you pick: A, rose, B, pistachio, C, lemon, or D, mastic?

You will need: 3 cups sugar, 3 1/2 cups water, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 3/4 cup cornstarch, 1 tsp rose water, 1/2 cup chopped pistachios, powdered sugar and cornstarch for dusting.

How to make it: 1. Boil sugar, 1 cup water and lemon juice to 240F. 2. Whisk cornstarch into the rest of the water and cook until thick. 3. Slowly whisk in the syrup and cook 1 hour on low, stirring often. 4. Add rose water and nuts and pour into a lined pan. 5. Set overnight, cut and roll in sugar.

Spoon Sweets, a Warm Welcome

Visit a Greek home and you might be offered a spoon sweet: a single spoon of fruit preserved in thick syrup, served with a glass of cold water. Sour cherry, called vissino, is the most loved, but there are spoon sweets made from figs, orange peel and even baby eggplant. It is a little ritual of hospitality. A spoon of vissino is also amazing over Greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

You will need: 2 lb pitted sour cherries, 4 cups sugar, 1/2 cup water, juice of 1 lemon.

How to make it: 1. Layer cherries and sugar in a pot and leave overnight. 2. Add water and bring to a boil. 3. Simmer gently, skimming the foam, for 20 minutes. 4. Add lemon juice and cook until the syrup is thick. 5. Pour into clean jars and cool.

Honey Roasted Figs, Simple Greek Desserts

Fresh figs grow all over Greece, and in late summer and fall people roast them with honey until they turn jammy and caramelized. It is one of those Greek desserts that needs only a few minutes and looks amazing on the plate. Serve them warm with yogurt, a little crumbled cheese or ice cream. If you see figs at the market this week, this is a perfect easy dessert for a dinner party.

You will need: 8 fresh figs, 3 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp butter, pinch of cinnamon, small sprig of thyme, Greek yogurt and walnuts to serve.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 400F. 2. Cut figs in half and place cut side up in a dish. 3. Drizzle with honey and add small bits of butter. 4. Add cinnamon and thyme and roast 12 to 15 minutes. 5. Serve warm with yogurt and walnuts.