Sweet treats: A recipe for making your very own Turkish delight

By Rebecca Shearer

December 6 2020, 6:00 pm

Turkish delight.

If you usually have a helping of Turkish delight every Christmas, now you can have a go at making it yourself with this recipe.

Turkish delight is one of those things that you either love or hate, but everyone always has their first memory of trying it.

Now, if it isn’t something you traditionally make at Christmas, you will soon have your first memory of making it yourself with this recipe – or why not get the family involved?

For more inspiration, take a look at our previous Sweet Treat recipes here.

Turkish delight

(Makes around 30 squares)

Ingredients

450g cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
475ml water
90g cornflour/cornstarch
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp rosewater
Pink food colouring (ideally paste)

To decorate:

40g cornflour/cornstarch
40g icing/confectioners’ sugar
Edible glitter (optional)

Method

Place the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan with 175ml of the water. Put the pan over a medium-low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Once the liquid is clear, stop stirring and heat until the sugar syrup reaches 118C/245F (around 15 minutes).
Line the baking pan with plastic wrap, smoothing the base and sides as much as possible.
Sift the cornflour and cream of tartar into a saucepan, along with the remaining 300ml of water. Place over a low heat and stir continuously. The mixture will start to thicken. Keep cooking it until it resembles hair gel – thick and gloopy.
Stirring constantly, slowly pour in the hot sugar syrup. Continue to stir over a low heat for around an hour. The mixture will look strange (and separated) at first, but it will come together.
When it’s done, it will have taken on a golden tinge and be very thick and difficult to stir. I know this is a long time to keep stirring, but I find it soothing – it’s something you can do with a Christmas film playing.
Remove from the heat and beat in the rosewater and food colouring. Scoop the Turkish delight into the lined baking pan – this will be messy. Smooth the top with a wet spatula and push down. Cover with a tea towel and allow it to set overnight in a cool room.
The next day, turn the Turkish delight out of the pan and peel off the plastic wrap. Wet a knife with hot water and slice into squares.
To decorate, sift the cornflour and icing sugar into a shallow bowl (along with the edible glitter if you’re using it). Drop the squares into the bowl and toss to coat each piece.
Gift it as soon as you can after this (or add a little extra cornflour to the box before you do), as the damp squares of Turkish delight will eventually soak up the powder.
Store in a cool, dry place, with greaseproof/wax paper between the layers.