Turkish Delight Recipe

The Tastiest Turkish Delight Recipe

The Tastiest Turkish Delight Recipe – Soft, slightly squishy, perfectly sweet Turkish Delight is a classic candy that is incredibly easy to make at home. Customize this recipe with your favorite flavors for the best homemade Lokum AKA Turkish Delight!

Prep: 15min

Total: 105min

Yield: 100

Serving Size: 1 piece

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 piece, calories 38 kcal, Carbohydrate 9 g, Protein 1 g, Fat 1 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Sodium 12 mg, Fiber 1 g, Sugar 9 g

Ingredients:

• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 ¼ cups water (divided)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 ¼ cups cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons rosewater ((optional))
• 1 ½ teaspoon raspberry extract
• 1 ½ teaspoon orange extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup chopped pistachios ((optional))
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 4-6 drops red food coloring ((optional))

Instruction:

1. Set two large 4-6 quart stock pots on the stovetop. Attach a candy thermometer onto one pot. Then set out a 9X9 inch baking dish. Line it neatly with foil, then spray it generously with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Pour 4 cups of sugar and 1 ½ cups of water in the pot with the thermometer. Set on high heat and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until the sugar syrup reaches 240 degrees F.
3. Meanwhile, pour the remaining 2 ¾ cups water in the second pot. Whisk in the lemon juice, cornstarch and cream of tartar, making sure there are NO clumps. Turn the heat on high and continue whisking until the mixture forms a thick white paste that resembles petroleum jelly. Again, whisk well to insure there are NO clumps.
4. Once the sugar syrup reaches the desired temperature, slowly and carefully pour the hot syrup into the cornstarch paste, a little at a time, making sure there are NO clumps. (This is safest with two sets of hands.)
5. Then turn the heat back to medium and simmer for approximately 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture looks like thick golden-orange jelly.
6. Turn off the heat, stir in the rosewater, raspberry extract, orange extract, and salt. Add food coloring if desired. Then pour half of the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
7. Quickly sprinkle with chopped pistachios, then pour the remaining candy mixture over the top before it cools and becomes too thick to pour. (Two sets of hands in nice here as well. If you don’t care that the pistachios are directly in the center of the candy, you can simply mix them into the candy mixture and pour it in the pan all at once.)
8. Place the dish in the refrigerator and chill for 30-60 minutes, until firm.
9. Turn the Turkish delight out of the dish and peel off the foil. Use a sharp knife (or kitchen shears) to cut the candy into approximately 100 tiny squares.
10. Add powdered sugar to the empty baking dish. As you cut the candy pieces, give them a good shake in the powdered sugar to coat them on all sides.
11. The candy should be somewhat hard after chilling, but will soften as it sits at room temperature.

Authentic Turkish Delight Recipe from Narnia

With the help of food science, this authentic Turkish delight recipe from Narnia is as close to foolproof as a confectionery recipe can get. Perfectly chewy and sweet, “lokum” is traditionally vegan & gluten-free. Read on to find out its fascinating history, as well as all the key tips and troubleshooting suggestions for Turkish delight.

Prep: 10min

Total: 2h40min

Yield: 40

Nutrition Facts: calories 45 calories

Ingredients:

• 350 g (scant 2 cups) white sugar (See Note 1)
• 175 ml (3/4 cup) water (for syrup)
• 1.8 g (1/4 teaspoon) citric acid (See Note 2)
• 70 g (1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon) cornstarch
• 500 ml (2 cups + 5 teaspoons) water (for cornstarch)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons rosewater (See Note 3)
• 10 drops of red food color (See Note 4)
• 30 g (1/4 cup) cornstarch
• 80 g (2/3 cup) cornstarch
• 45 g (1/3 cup) powdered sugar
• Make sure the sugar is the regular white variety as the less processed yellow-looking ones will make it difficult to judge the final steps of this recipe where we partially depend on the color.
• You may substitute citric acid with either the same volume of cream of tartar, or quadruple the volume of lemon juice. 1 tbsp of lemon juice roughly equals 1/4 tsp of citric acid. However, unlike citric acid or cream of tartar, lemon juice will impart some flavor to your Turkish delight.
• Rose is an acquired taste. Therefore, to some, too much rosewater in the delights may make them taste soapy or perfumy. If you believe you might be in this category, halve the volume of rosewater the recipe calls for and you’ll get only the slightest hint. As written, the rose flavor in this recipe is quite muted—but certainly there to compliment the sugar. Feel free to increase the amount if you wish to have a more robust flavor. Not a rosewater fan at all? Try substituting with extracts: orange, mandarin, pomegranate, lemon, and mint are very common flavorings in Turkey. You could also try yuzu, almond, maple, cinnamon, root beer… sky is the limit. Be careful as extracts are often stronger than rosewater in the same amount. At least halving the volume would be a good idea.
• The intensity of food colors varies widely from brand to brand. I used Watkins (liquid), and the initial super bright red color got much paler a few days after lokum set—so you may want to go overboard with how much you add or use another brand in order to have a deep red color.

Instruction:

1. Add the sugar, citric acid, and water into a heavy-bottomed pan and mix until the sugar dissolves.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil on high heat, then lower the heat down to a simmer and wait until the syrup reaches 250°F (hard ball stage, See Note 1). Make sure to adjust this temperature for your kitchen’s altitude and observe the pan closely—a clipped candy thermometer will give the most reliable results. This should take 15-30 minutes depending on your stove’s heat output.
3. id=”instruction-step-3″>3. Meanwhile, prepare the cornstarch mixture by adding cornstarch and water to a jar. Close the lid and shake vigorously until there are no visible lumps of starch. Alternatively, thoroughly mix in a separate bowl.
4. id=”instruction-step-4″>4. Once the syrup reaches 250°F, turn off the heat and gradually add the just-shaken cornstarch mix into the pan, whisking continuously.
5. d=”instruction-step-5″>5. When all the cornstarch is incorporated, turn the heat on to medium-low and continue whisking until gelation. It should only take a few minutes for the mixture to thicken.
6. d=”instruction-step-6″>6. Once it’s thickened, put the heat on low to simmer, and make sure to mix it (See Note 2) about every 6-7 minutes to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. Be careful as the thickened mixture may splatter. Continue this process for 1-2 hours.
7. instruction-step-7″>7. Prepare a mold by spreading a small amount of neutral oil into a container (See Notes 3 & 4).
8. instruction-step-8″>8. To judge whether the mixture is done cooking, look for a relatively thick—but not gloopy—texture and a medium-dark shade of amber. Around the 1, 1 1/2-hour mark, the mixture is usually very close to being done. This timeframe will depend on a variety of factors such as pan width & material, changing the ingredient amounts to make more/less lokum, and the burner’s heat output. It can go up to 2 hours+, so make sure to judge by texture and color. At this final stage, you may also have to start stirring more frequently, about every 2 minutes.
9. ruction-step-9″>9. When the Turkish delight is done cooking, turn off the heat, and add the rosewater and food coloring. Mix, pour into the container, and set aside at room temperature for at least 5 hours—preferably a full day especially if you’re somewhere hot and humid.
10. ion-step-10″>10. The next day, sprinkle cornstarch into the container then cut out a strip from the edge so that you can remove the entire slab. Sprinkle with more cornstarch, then cut into cubes.
11. ion-step-11″>11. Once they are cut, dredge the cubes in a mixture of cornstarch and powdered sugar.
12. on-step-12″>12. To maximize the experience, serve with Turkish coffee and water on the side, which is the most common way people consume it in Turkey. Sandwiching the lokum between plain biscuits like Biscoff (or Petibör in Turkey) is really popular as well. These also make a great gift for Christmas. Enjoy!

Authentic Turkish delight recipe || lokum recipe

FAQ

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