Turkish Delight

This is another one of those foods that I’m perfectly happy eating it when I’ve made it…but don’t quite trust anyone else with it (you can see my omelette story here). From the outset – this is not a quick recipe.

There is boiling and stirring and whisking and a sugar thermometer involved – you’ll need patience. Again, not my strong point – which is why I didn’t let my Turkish Delight cook for the full hour. The result? Soft, almost melt-in-your-mouth Turkish Delight. I think my impatience won this round.

Sweet, rose-scented and oh-so-delicate -if you want a change from the pink gummy sweets you find while standing in the supermarket queue – give these a try. You’ll be converted.

Recipe from here

Ingredients:

oil to coat pan
4 cups caster sugar
4 cups water
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
3 tbs gelatine powder
1 cup cornflour
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp rosewater essence
Red food colouring
1 cup icing sugar and 1 cup cornflour, mixed, to coat

Method:

Oil a 20cm cake pan. Line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing the sides to hang over the edges of the pan.

Place the caster sugar and 2 cups of the water in a large heavy-based saucepan with a sugar thermometer over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium. Cook, without stirring, brushing down the side of the pan occasionally with a pastry brush dipped in water, for 25 minutes or until the sugar thermometer reaches 125°C. Stir in the lemon juice.

Place the gelatine, cornflour and cream of tartar in another large saucepan. Use a balloon whisk to whisk in a little of the remaining water to form a paste. Gradually whisk in the remaining water. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens.

Gradually pour the sugar syrup into the cornflour mixture, whisking constantly (if the mixture becomes lumpy, pour through a fine sieve into another saucepan).

Reduce heat to low. Place the sugar thermometer in the saucepan. Simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent the mixture sticking to the base of the pan, for 1 hour or until the mixture is light golden and sugar thermometer reaches 110°C. Add the rosewater and a few drops of the food colouring and stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Set aside to cool to room temperature and place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight until firm.

Pour the icing sugar mixture onto a large chopping board. Turn the Turkish Delight onto the icing sugar and use a lightly greased knife to cut into 3cm pieces. Toss the Turkish Delight in the icing sugar to coat. Serve.

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Turkish Delight