Aromatic, sweet, and soft, my rose-flavoured Turkish Delight is really simple to make, and is a luxurious treat any day of the year… not just at Christmas time!
Ingredients
For the Turkish Delight:
- 400g (14 oz / 2 cups) granulated white sugar
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 435ml (1¾ cups) water, divided
- 65g (2¼ oz / ½ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
- ½ tbsp rose water
Optional:
- A few drops of red food colouring (make sure it’s vegan)
For dusting:
- 80g (2¾ oz, ½ cup) icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
- 2 tbsp cornflour
Other stuff you’ll need:
- Candy thermometer
- Suitable receptacle, such as a medium-sized oven dish or baking tin (around 23cm x 18cm/9”x7", and at least 5cm/2” deep)
- Neutral oil, for greasing
- Baking parchment
Not strictly necessary but it will save your arms:
- Electric whisk
Instructions
Prepare the syrup:
- Place the sugar, lemon juice, and 185ml (¾ cup) of the water into a heavy-based pan over a medium heat.
- Stir constantly, until the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil, and brush down the inside of the pan with cold water (this will stop crystals forming). Insert the thermometer - don’t let it rest on the bottom of the pan though, or you’ll get a false reading.
- Boil the syrup (keep stirring), until it reaches 115°C (240°F). (This is the soft ball stage. If you’re not using a thermometer, you will need to test the syrup by dropping a teaspoonful into a glass of cold water. If it forms a soft ball, the syrup is ready. It should take anywhere between 10-15 minutes to reach this stage.)
- Remove the pan from the heat. The syrup will be a light gold colour.
Make the Turkish Delight:
- While the syrup is cooling slightly, place the rest of the water (250ml / 1 cup) into another heavy-based pan over a medium heat, along with the cream of tartar (to stop the sugar crystallising), and the cornflour. Whisk to make sure there are no lumps.
- Whisk the mixture constantly, until it boils, and you have a very thick paste. Turn off the heat.
- Carefully, and slowly, pour the syrup into the cornflour paste, a little at a time, making sure to keep whisking. Once you’ve added in all the syrup, whisk a little more to ensure that there are no lumps, and you have a smooth, golden, semi-translucent paste. Scrape down the sides of the pan, or else you’ll get crusty stuff falling into the paste.
- Over a medium heat, and stirring all the time, slowly bring the paste to a boil.
- Turn the heat down to its lowest setting, and gently simmer for an hour or so, stirring every few minutes to prevent sticking. The paste will now be a deep golden colour. Turn off the heat, mix in the rosewater and food colouring (if using).
- Oil the dish or baking tin, and line with baking parchment. Oil the baking parchment. Pour the Turkish Delight into the prepared dish, and give it a bit of a shake to ensure the TD gets right into the corners.
- Cover with a piece of oiled baking parchment, and leave for around five to six hours to cool and set.
Finish the Turkish Delight:
- When it’s ready, it will feel firm, and slightly tacky on top.
- Sift together the icing sugar and the rest of the cornflour into a large bowl, then sieve some of this over the surface of the Turkish Delight, until it’s all covered.
- Sieve more icing sugar/cornflour over a large chopping board or work surface.
- Turn out the Turkish Delight onto the powder, and gently peel away the baking parchment. Sieve more of the icing sugar mix over the surface.
- Using a large oiled knife, cut the Turkish Delight into 36 cubes. I’ve been told that a pizza cutter works really well too!
- Place each cube of Turkish Delight into the bowl with the rest of the icing sugar mix, and toss them around to ensure they are all well-coated.
- Store at room temperature in between sheets of baking parchment, and covered with the rest of the icing sugar/cornflour mixture in a container with a loosely-fitting lid. Don’t refrigerate, or else the Turkish Delight will sweat, and become a nasty, gooey mess!
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