Since the lockdown started, my kids have been going through phases where sometimes they enjoy reading for hours on end, and then there are days where they don’t even want to see a book.
These days, my oldest is reading the Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. He really enjoyed this book and I’m so glad he did. He asked me to make him Turkish Delight because he doesn’t remember what it tastes like. So I decided to make some Story- Inspired Turkish delight.
This recipe is great because it doesn’t have any gelatine in it! Which I am very happy about! This recipe did take a lot of work, but I can assure you, its totally worth it in the end when you have that perfect, soft, gooey and sweet Turkish delight.
And anyone who says its too sweet, well it is supposed to be sweet. Turkish delight is always sweet. It’s traditionally served with Turkish coffee, which is extremely bitter, so it balances that out.
I made a plain Turkish delight, close to the sweets mentioned in the book by C.S. Lewis. I have to say, making it myself made me appreciate the art of candy making. I have made candy in the past so I am fully aware how long it tastes and how much love goes into every piece.
Now I was about to get around 40 pieces with this recipe. Depending on how big you make the pieces.
Preparation Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Set Time overnight
Yields 40 pieces
Ingredients
4 cups sugar
1 litre water- separated
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup corn starch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon flavouring- rose water, orange blossom or vanilla
2-3 drops of pink food colour
For the sugar coating
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
Instructions
Place 4 cups of sugar, 300 ml water and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Bring it to a boil.
Cook it on the stove until the mixture comes to 235f/112c. This is called the soft ball stage. Check that it’s done, by placing some of this mixture in a bowl of cold water. If you can bring the sugar together and form a soft ball, then the mixture is ready.
Turn off the stove.
In another large pot, place 1 cup cornflour with the cream of tartar and 750 ml of water. Whisk it well to remove all the lumps.
Put this on the stove on a medium heat and mix it continuously until a thick paste forms.
Slowly add the sugar syrup to the corn starch mix, whisking continuously to prevent lumps from forming.
Cook this on a low heat for 40-45 minutes. Keep mixing continuously. The mixture will be a light golden brown and extremely thick. It will be hard to mix it trough.
Turn off the flame and now add your flavourings. Then add the pink food colour and mix it through.
Line an 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Liberally grease the whole baking pan and the parchment paper with oil.
Pour the mixture into the lined baking pan. Flatten the mixture with a greased spatula.
Set this aside overnight. Do not cover in clingfilm or tin foil. Just a piece of kitchen paper will do.
The next day: combine the ingredients for the sugar coating. Set it aside.
Dust a chopping board with some of the sugar coating.
Invert the Turkish delight onto the board and carefully peel off the parchment paper. Dust the top of the Turkish delight with some of the sugar coating.
Grease a knife with some oil and cut the Turkish delight into squares.
Toss the Turkish delight in the sugar coating. Shake off any excess.
Serve immediately.
Storage instructions
Store the Turkish delight on the counter in a paper bag or in a tin. Do not put it in an airtight container or in the fridge. It will cause the Turkish delight to sweat.