I first discovered the mysterious name “Turkish Delight” when I was immersed in the magical world of The lion, the witch and the wardrobe, reading about poor Edmund lost in the wickedly wintry Narnia and fascinated by the evil White Witch, the Queen of Narnia, after a deliriously delicious mouthful of Turkish Delight sweets.
“Is it boring, son of Adam, to drink without eating?” the Queen said shortly afterwards. “What do you prefer to eat?”
Turkish delight, please, Your Majesty,” said Edmund.
The queen dropped another drop from the bottle onto the snow, and presently a round box appeared, tied with a green silk ribbon, which, when opened, was found to contain several pounds of the finest Turkish delight. Each piece was sweet and light right through to the center and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious. He was quite warm and comfortable now.” -The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
This traditional candy has a history that dates back to the 18th century Ottoman Empire. There are tons of variations of these simple sugar and starch gel candies, infused with different flavors and even filled with all kinds of nuts and dried fruit. But by far the most famous of its reincarnations is the rose-scented Turkish Delight, a sugar-dusted gummy candy scented with the delicate aroma of roses.
It turns out that Turkish Delight isn’t that difficult to make at home. Woohoo! We were so excited when we discovered it, we had to try it right away. And just in time for the holiday season too, as these delicious candies make a perfect homemade gift!
The candy starts with sugar and a little lemon zest for that gorgeous summer lemon scent. The sugar is cooked until it forms a syrup. Make sure you have a food thermometer to control the temperature. You’ll want to get the syrup to softball level, between 113 and 116°C (235-240°F). At this temperature the sugar syrup dropped into the water will form a soft and malleable ball.
At the same time, a starch suspension is prepared in another pan. The starch is mixed with water and cooked until thick.
Next, the starch mixture and sugar syrup are added. The mixture will become quite liquid after mixing. The next part is the longest part of making these candies. You will need to take a little time to cook it, watching the pan and stirring occasionally until the water has reduced and the mixture has thickened. Grab a novel and babysit that dish!
It takes a while. It depends on the heat you use. I usually use a lower temperature for things like this to avoid accidentally burning the whole thing (learned from experience, lol). But definitely if you want to shorten the time use a slightly higher heat. Just make sure you look at the stove.
The final compound should not stick to the walls or bottom. I actually missed the mark the first time and ended up with candy that looked good enough to shape, dry, cut and pulverize, but got wet the second day. ☹️ So I ended up putting everything back in the pot, adding a little water and cooking again (sigh…) until it got really DRY and clearly didn’t stick to the pot. I think this is the key to successfully making Turkish delight.
The second “drying” worked. My Turkish Delights turned out, well, delicious!
Once sufficiently “dry”, the gelled mixture is poured and leveled onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. It already looks pretty cute! It’s time to let the candy sit overnight at room temperature.
Your Turkish delight should be prepared by the second day. Give it a tap with your finger to check. It shouldn’t stick to your finger at all. Prepare a mix of starch and icing sugar and sprinkle it on the work surface. Lift the sweets using the paper and tip them onto the starch/sugar. Peel off the paper and sprinkle more sugar/starch all over. The sugar/starch prevents them from sticking and gives the candies their distinctive frosted appearance.
Cut into squares. We chose smaller squares but the size is up to you. It should be what you think is a good “bite.” Sprinkle more sugar/starch on the exposed cut sides. What a beautiful color, don’t you think?
Ta-da, gorgeous homemade Turkish delight! It takes a little time and patience at the stove to really make sure you’ve dried the gel mixture well. Other than those things, these traditional candies are actually really easy to make at home, much to my surprise and enjoyment. For all candy and Narnia lovers, enjoy!
(for 72 squares) Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour Setting time: 24 hours
Ingredients:
Equipment:
Sugar syrup:
- 4 cups sugar800 g
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 1/2 cups water
Starch paste:
Dusting powder:
Prepare the sugar syrup: Add the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and 1 1/2 cups water to a saucepan over medium heat. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, reduce the heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for another 10 minutes or until the temperature of the syrup is between 113 and 116°C. Use a food thermometer to check the temperature.
Note: If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer you can check the cooking by pouring a little syrup into a bowl full of water. If the syrup forms a soft, malleable ball, it is ready. This is the softball test.
Prepare the starch paste: While the syrup boils, quickly prepare the starch paste by mixing the starch, cream of tartar, and 2 cups water in another saucepan over low heat. Mix until a thick paste forms. Remove from heat.
Combine: Once the sugar syrup has reached the right temperature, remove it from the heat. Return the pot of starch to the stove over low heat and pour in the sugar syrup in three batches, stirring each time to incorporate until smooth.
Add flavouring: When you feel the mixture is dry enough, add the rose essence and add enough edible gel to get a pale pink color. Keep in mind that a little gel food coloring goes a long way, so add a small amount at a time until you reach your desired color. Cook for another minute.
Let the candy set: Pour the gel candies onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Smooth the top with a lightly oiled spatula. Let the candies rest for 24 hours at room temperature. The candy should not stick to your finger at all.
Cut and pulverize: Mix together 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Dust a work surface with the mixture, then turn the candy top side down. Peel off the parchment paper. Dust the top and sides with the sugar/starch mixture. Use a lightly oiled knife to cut the candy into desired size squares. Generously dust all cut sides with the sugar-starch mixture to prevent the squares from sticking together. Tada! Your Turkish delight is ready to enjoy!
Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Place a sheet of baking paper between the layers of candy. It can be kept for up to a month.
