Turkish delight

4.78 from 9 votes

The easiest and tastiest Turkish delight treats that you can ever make at home. Simple ingredients, no thermometer needed this is great for gifting as well.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Let it set for:4 hrs

Course: Candy, Dessert

Cuisine: Egyptian, Middle Eastern, Turkish

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 94kcal

Author: Amira

Ingredients

⅔ cup water 150g
⅓ cup cornstarch 40g
2 teaspoons lime juice
1-2 teaspoon rosewater or any extract for flavor
1 cup granulated sugar 200g
5 Tablespoons corn syrup. 75g

Optional:

⅓ -½ cup nuts of your choice

For final coating:

4 Tablespoons cornstarch
4 Tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

Pour water and cornstarch in a saucepan and whisk well until combined with no lumps.
Heat the mixture on medium and keep on whisking until it thickens, will take probably 2-3 minutes.
Reduce heat to the lowest possible flame. Mix in rosewater and lime juice.
Set a timer to 1 hour.

Add sugar and corn syrup as follows: When your timer reads

60 minute ( in the beginning) add ⅕th of the sugar, mix it well with a spatula until sugar no longer visible then mix in 1 Tablespoon corn syrup.
55 minutes (after 5 minutes of first addition): add another ⅕th of the sugar, mix it well with a spatula until sugar no more visible then mix in 1another Tablespoon corn syrup.
50 minutes (after 5 minutes of first addition): add another ⅕th of the sugar, mix it well with a spatula until sugar no more visible then mix in 1another Tablespoon corn syrup.
45 minutes (after 5 minutes of first addition): add another ⅕th of the sugar, mix it well with a spatula until sugar no more visible then mix in 1another Tablespoon corn syrup.
40 minutes (after 5 minutes of first addition): add the remaining ⅕th of the sugar, mix it well with a spatula until sugar no more visible then mix in the last Tablespoon corn syrup.
Let the mixture cook stirring it every 5 minutes to ensure even cooking and prevent scorching.
Line a 5”x5” glass container with parchment paper and spray or brush with oil.
When your timer reads 10 minutes start checking your Turkish delight by taking a piece ( about ¼ to ½ teaspoon) on the tip of a spoon. Immediately immerse the spoon in a cup of iced water. Leave it there for 40 seconds to a full minute to cool down.
Take the spoon out and carefully check the consistency and texture of your delights, taste it to make sure it has reached your preferred chewiness. Please make sure it has completely cooled down or else you will burn your tongue.
When you’ve reached your desired consistency, take it out of the heat.
Now is the time to adjust color and more flavor if desired.
Mix in the nuts if using.
Empty the Turkish delight mixture in the container. Wet your hands with cold water and press to fill the container. Be very cautious as the mixture will be hot.
Brush a piece of plastic wrap with oil and cover the delights.
Let it cool completely and set on counter top, will take approximately 2-3 hours or overnight.
Mix the coating ingredients together and dust a clean counter top with some of the mixture.
Take the Turkish delight out of the container using the parchment paper. And flip it over the counter top.
Peel off the parchment paper and dust the top with more of the coating mixture.
Oil or wet ( with cold water) a sharp chef’s knife and start cutting the delights into squares.
Dust the sides of each square with more of the coating powder to prevent stickiness.
Store Turkish delights in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Make sure to separate layers with plastic wrap or parchment paper.

Video

Notes

You can use juice instead of water but be careful with the sugar, adjust sugar level to your liking.
You can also use milk, but when using milk do not add lime juice until you are done with adding all the sugar and corn syrup or else your milk will curdle.
When using juice or milk keep in mind that your delights might take longer to cook to your perfection. For my taste it took me almost 30 minutes more.
If your Turkish delights did not set to your liking, do not throw it away. Here is how to fix that. In a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon of water and the unset delights and turn the heat to low. Break up the delights with a spatula to help them melt back. Keep cooking and stirring every 5 minutes. Adding an extra 1-2 teaspoons of lime juice OR raising the heat can accelerate the setting. BUT you need to be aware that adding extra lime juice could affect the taste, this is not a problem when making lemon or pomegranate flavored ones but if you are making other flavors it might be unpleasant. Also raising the heat to medium-low can expedite the cooking but you need to stay there and stir every minute or two to prevent burning.
You can use any flavor extract you like but the most common are rosewater, vanilla, lemon, mint, pomegranate and mastic. I’ve made this with great success using pomegranate juice and crushed mastic.
The most famous in Egypt is vanilla flavored with walnuts and shaped into a rope.
If you have a candy thermometer and if it would help you to know, my Turkish delights was good for me when it reached between 195F and 205F.
Troubleshooting: If the Turkish delight is grainy or has bits of something like hard candy then you either did not give sugar time to dissolve and melt between addition, was in a hurry and added the sugar all at once or in less addition, the heat was high and you did not turn it to the lowest possible flame.
Getting the right texture depends greatly on what you like and on the heat you are using. I've noticed that to reach the right texture for me it takes 1 hour on electric stove while the same consistency takes 1 hour and 10 minutes on gas stove.
We had so much fun using the Wilton color right chart to make different colors for our delights.
If all else fails or if fixing it is too finicky, you can add water to make Turkish delight flavored beverages Use it as a topping for ice cream or into seltzer water. The possibilities are endless.

Nutrition