Turkish delight

If you love rosewater then these sweet delights should be on your menu. Red food colouring is most common but you can get creative with other colours if you wish.

Credit: Dieu Tan

• makes

  18

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  1:15 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 385 g (1¾ cups) caster sugar
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 50 g (⅓ cup) cornflour
• 2 tbsp rosewater (see Note)
• ¼ tsp pink food colouring
• 320 g (2 cups) icing sugar mixture

Instructions

Place sugar, cream of tartar, lemon juice and 160 ml water in a pan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Cook for 10 minutes or until mixture reaches 115˚C on a sugar thermometer. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, place cornflour and 185 ml water in a small saucepan and stir until cornflour dissolves. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring vigorously, for 2 minutes or until mixture is the consistency of glue. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until mixture starts to come away from side of pan and resembles thick mashed potato; remove from stove every few minutes and stir vigorously to avoid lumps.

Add sugar syrup to cornflour mixture, about ½ cup at a time, stirring after each addition. Place over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until golden and mixture starts to form a ball when stirred; as mixture starts to thicken, stir more frequently.

Add rosewater and colouring, and combine. Pour into a greased loaf pan lined with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.

Turn out onto a chopping board dusted with icing sugar mixture. Using an oiled knife, cut into 18 squares. Toss in remaining icing sugar mixture until coated. Store for up to 1 month.

Note
• Rosewater is from Middle Eastern food shops and selected supermarkets.

Variation
Almond Turkish delight

Chop 150 g blanched almonds and add with food colouring in Step 4 of the recipe above. Or, using the tip of a small oiled knife, insert 15 whole blanched almonds into Turkish delight at regular intervals before refrigerating.

As seen in Feast Magazine, Issue 17, pg56.

Photography by Dieu Tan

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.