Homemade Turkish Delight Candy

I first discovered the mysterious name 'Turkish Delight' when immersed in magical world of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, reading of poor Edmund lost in wickedly wintry Narnia and captivated by the evil White Witch, the Queen of Narnia, after one deliriously delicious bite of Turkish Delight candy.

"Is it dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating," said the Queen presently.  "What would you like best to eat?"

Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty," said Edmund.

The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight.  Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious.  He was quite warm now, and comfortable." -The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

This traditional candy has a history that goes back as far as the Ottoman Empire of the 18th century.  There are so many variations of this simple sugar and starch gel candy, infused with different flavors and also stuffed with all kinds of nuts and dried fruits.  But by far the most famous of its reincarnations is the rose scented Turkish Delight, a sugar dusted chewy candy scented with the delicate aroma of roses.

Turns out that Turkish Delight is not that hard to make at home.  Woohoo!   We were so excited when we found this out, had to try right away.  And just in time for the festive season, too, as these lovely candies make for a perfect little homemade gift!

The candy starts with sugar and a bit of lemon peel for that gorgeous summery scent of lemon.  The sugar is cooked into a syrup.  Be sure you have a food thermometer to check the temperature.  You’ll want to get the syrup to the softball stage, between 235-240°F (113-116°C).  At this temperature the sugar syrup dropped into water will form a soft pliable ball.

At the same time a starch slurry is prepared in another pot.  Starch is mixed with water and cooked until thick. 

The starch mix and the sugar syrup is then combined.  The mixture will become quite liquid after the mixing.  The next part is the longish part of making this candy.  You’re gonna have to put in some time to cook it down, watching the pot and stirring every once in a while until water is reduced and the mixture thickens.  Grab a novel and babysit that pot!

Takes a while.  It depends on the heat you use.  I usually use a lower heat for things like this so as to avoid accidentally burning the whole thing (learned from experience, lol).  But surely if you want to shorten the time use a slightly higher heat.  Just be sure to watch the stove.  

Once you think the mixture is ‘dry’ enough add in the rose water and the food coloring.  The rose water is added in last minute so as to not to affect the rose aroma as much as possible.  Omgosh it smells so fabulous now!

For the food coloring I would recommend to use food coloring gel as it has much less liquid content and gives gorgeous colors with just a dab of the gel.  Liquid is what we’re trying to cook off so no point to add more at this point, amirite?!

The final mixture shouldn’t stick to the sides or the bottom.  I actually missed the mark the first time and ended up with candies that looked okay enough to shape, dry, cut and powder but became wet by the second day.  ☹️   So I ended up dumping everything back in the pot, adding some water and cooking it down again (sigh…) until it got really really DRY and clearly not sticking to the pot.  I think this is the key to making successful Turkish delight.  

The second ‘drying’ did the trick.  My Turkish Delights came out, well, delightful!

Once ‘dry’ enough the gelled mixture is poured and leveled out into a parchment paper lined tray.  Looking quite pretty already!  Time to let the candy set overnight at room temperature.

Your Turkish delight should be set by the second day.  Give it a poke with a finger to check.  It should not stick at all to your finger.  Prepare a starch and powdered sugar mix and sprinkle on your working surface.  Lift candy out using the paper and turn out onto the starch/sugar.  Peel off paper and sprinkle more of the sugar/starch everywhere.  The sugar/starch prevents sticking and gives the candy its distinct frosted look.

Cut to squares.  We chose smaller squares but the size is up to you.  It should be whatever you feel is a good ‘mouthful’.  Sprinkle more sugar/starch on the exposed cut sides.  What a lovely color, doncha think?

Ta-da, gorgeous homemade Turkish Delight!  Takes a bit of time and patience at the stove and to be really sure that you’ve dried the gel mixture thoroughly.  Besides these things this traditional candy is actually really easy peasy to make at home, much to my surprise and enjoyment.  For all the candy and Narnia lovers out there, enjoy!

Turkish Delight Recipe

(makes 72 small squares)  Prep time: 5 mins   Cook time: 1 hr  Setting time: 24 hrs

Ingredients:

     Equipment:

• 12x10 inch tray
• food thermometer

     Sugar Syrup:

• 4 cups sugar, 800g
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups water

     Starch Paste:

• 1 cup cornstarch, 125g
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
•  2 cups water
• 2 tsp rose water
• red food coloring gel

     Dusting Powder:

• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

Make the sugar syrup:  Add sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and 1 1/2 cups of water to a pot over medium heat.  Once the sugar is completely melted turn down the heat to a simmer.  Cook for another 10 mins or so or until the temperature of the syrup is between 235-240°F (113-116°C).  Use a food thermometer to check the temperature.

Note: If you don’t have a food thermometer you can check readiness by dropping a bit of the syrup into a bowl of water.  If the syrup forms into a soft pliable ball it is ready.  This is the softball test.

Make the starch paste: While the syrup is simmering quickly make the starch paste by mixing the starch, cream of tartar and 2 cups water in another pot over a low heat.  Stir until a thick paste forms.  Remove from heat.

Combine:  Once the sugar syrup has reached the right temperature remove from heat.   Put the starch pot back on stove over the lowest heat setting and pour the sugar syrup in three portions, stirring to incorporate each time until smooth.

Cook the candy:  Turn the heat up until the mixture starts to bubble.  Then turn down the heat to a simmer and let cook for about an hour.  In the beginning stir with slow moves every couple of minutes.  The mixture will gradually thicken and turn a yellow color.  Keep on cooking and stirring until the mixture leaves the sides and bottom of the pan cleanly. It’s really important that it is cooked quite dry.

Add the flavoring:  When you think the mixture is dry enough stir in the rose essence and add enough food gel to achieve a pale pink color.  Note that a little food coloring gel goes a long way so add a dab at a time until your desired color is reached.  Cook for a minute more.  

Let the candy set:  Pour gel candy into a parchment paper lined tray.  Smooth the top with a lightly oiled spatula.  Let the candy set for 24 hours at room temperature.  The candy should not stick to your finger at all.

Cut and powder:  Mix 3 tbsp powdered sugar and 3 tbsp cornstarch together.  Dust a working surface with the mixture then flip the candy top side down onto it.  Peel off the parchment paper.  Dust the top and sides with sugar/starch mixture.  Use a lightly oiled knife to cut the candy into squares of your desired size.  Dust all the cut sides generously with 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 parchment paper between the layers of candy.  Keeps for up to a month.

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