Talkysh Kaleve (eastern sweet)
12 servings
80 minutes
Talkysh kaleve is an exquisite Eastern sweet and a gem of Tatar cuisine. Its history dates back to ancient times when confectioners created airy desserts from honey and flour, turning simple ingredients into culinary art. This dessert features a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth texture resembling the finest sweet threads. The aroma of melted butter and honey fills it with a unique taste—soft, enveloping, and sweet but not cloying. Talkysh kaleve often decorates festive tables; it is served with tea, and enjoying this treat becomes a whole ritual. The crispy strands of honey dough make the dessert unusual, while its preparation is an art requiring patience and skill.
1
First, we prepare the alba. Melt the butter in a small pot, gradually adding flour in small portions. Start frying while constantly stirring. At first, the mixture will be crumbly, but during cooking (about 30 minutes), it will become soft and homogeneous. The alba is considered ready when a layer of butter appears on its surface, and the mixture turns liquid — then it should be removed from the heat.
- Melted butter: 200 g
- Wheat flour: 250 g
2
We prepare a fragrant honey mass. Mix honey with water (250 ml), sugar, and start boiling. The process is quite lengthy; to check readiness, dip the tip of a match into the boiling mass, drop it on your palm, and rub it — if the mass stretches and the fibers break when pressed, remove it from the heat.
- Honey: 150 g
- Sugar: 450 g
- Water: 250 ml
3
Pour the ready honey into a cold, oiled container. Start quickly lifting the mass with a knife from all sides to prevent it from hardening. When the mass thickens slightly, transfer it to a board, take it in your hands and stretch it, fold it in half, join the ends, and stretch it again, making sure to do this very quickly, trying not to tear the mass until it becomes white, shiny, and stretchy.
- Honey: 150 g
4
We place the warm alba on the cutting board, put the honey mass on top, make a ring, and together we start stretching it, then quickly fold it in half and connect both ends. As the alba absorbs, the dough will stretch better and spread into thin white fibers. Spread the fibers on the board and carefully gather them with fingers to fill the molds (small conical glasses can be used).
- Wheat flour: 250 g
- Honey: 150 g
- Melted butter: 200 g
5
Leave the formed talkish kalye in the cold for a while.
6
Turn the mold upside down and knock out the talc.