Easy Turkish Delight

Let me be upfront; this is not a traditional Turkish Delight. I know some purists out there are going to freak out, as this recipe includes gelatine. The outcome is similar, but the texture differs slightly from traditional Turkish delight. So why do we make Turkish Delight a little differently? It’s because it’s simply much easier to make. So let’s call it Easy Turkish Delight. 🙂

I know most of you follow me because I try to share my quick and easy methods, which is great, as we’re all so busy these days. If you want traditional Turkish Delight, you don’t use gelatine. However, you must be more precise and spend more time making it. Oh, and unless there’s a guided recipe (something specific to the Thermomix), you can’t use it to make proper Turkish Delight. You need to take the sugar past the temperature your Thermomix will generally go to without using a guided recipe.

Since this recipe uses gelatin, you can bypass the technical sugar temperature step. But you know, there are other issues many people have, so read my tips to get on top of that. My suggestions are in the text and recipe card below.

Over the past 5 – 10 years, many pastry chefs’ ingredients have become available commercially online or in specialty stores. Read my tips on a product called Snow Sugar, in another section below. You can decide how you would like to store your Turkish Delight, but don’t use pure icing sugar, or straight soft icing sugar or it will weep.

Turkish Delight ingredients

• Pure Icing sugar: Sifted; make sure you sift it; you won’t believe how hard it is to get rid of lumps once wet.
• Cornflour: The one made with corn. I use proper cornflour, not wheaten; trust me, it’s a thing, so check your label. You use less of this than the traditional method.
• Cream of tartar: used as an acid to help with taste and texture.
• Flaked salt: This will help heighten the flavour, although you can leave it out if you prefer a low-salt diet. 
• Caster Sugar: This is fine sugar; it works best for this recipe because it dissolves better without making too many bubbles.
• Lemon juice: Used for acid and taste.
• Gelatine: I use powdered gelatine here because leaf gelatine is sooo expensive in this quantity; note – Don’t smell it before you add your flavour. Eeeek, once the rosewater is added, it’s okay. Gelatine and its many forms
• Rosewater: I use one tablespoon of quality rosewater.  It could be more, depending on how strong you want it, but be careful.  It’s potent stuff.  Be careful not to use Rosewater flavouring, as the flavour is much stronger. You’ll have to do some testing if you’re using a flavouring from one of those little bottles you get in the cake aisle, you’ll only need a few drops.

What if you don’t like rosewater?

These are a few alternatives to rosewater. The taste won’t be the same, but you just might make something extraordinary, that you and your friends will love 🙂

• Cherry: Add one teaspoon of cherry extract. You knew I would have to add this. 😁
• Lemon: Use one teaspoon of lemon extract.
• Orange: Add one teaspoon of orange extract.
• Pomegranate: Replace the water with 2 cups of pomegranate juice.
• Pistachio: Add 1/4 cup of roughly chopped pistachios to the mixture.
• Pomegranate and Pistachio. Add the last two ideas together. 😉

Why does my Turkish Delight weep?

So many people have this issue of their Turkish delight becoming wet after a few hours. The internet is filled with Turkish Delight recipes; many of them don’t rate well, and I’m pretty sure it’s got nothing to do with the actual recipe; it’s all about how they’ve been stored.

Because sugar is a humectant (it draws moisture toward it), it can draw liquid from the Turkish delight, causing the outside to become wet. You want to counteract that with something that will react the opposite.

• Commercially, there’s an ingredient called Snow Sugar. It’s a non-melting powdered sugar that looks and tastes just like icing sugar. We used to sell it from our cooking school, and you can buy it online. Want to know more about it? Click here and scroll down to Snow Powder.
• Sugar is a humectant; under the right conditions, it will draw moisture from whatever’s around.  So, If you sit a pile of icing on top of your soft, moist Turkish Delight, the icing sugar will melt and puddle. The icing sugar will draw the moisture from your Turkish Delight and turn it into syrup.
• If you can’t get or don’t want to purchase “snow”, use the cornflour trick. You can lightly shake the cornflour off any pieces before serving if you like, but I find that if it’s just a light dusting, it’s okay.  You can also dust with a bit of icing just before serving but remember those bits won’t keep well if they don’t get eaten at that sitting.
• Another idea is to grab some white chocolate and grate it into powder, although you need to get it really fine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Easy Turkish Delight

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Ok, this is not Traditional Turkish Delight! But it's quick and easy and tastes brilliant. I also show you how to store it. The internet is littered with "why is my Turkish Delight melting?" See my tips.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Difficulty Easy

Course Confection

Cuisine Turkish

Servings 36 more or less

Method Thermomix and Conventional

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Equipment

• 1 Thermomix (optional)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Ingredients for the Cheats Turkish Delight:

• 250 g icing sugar sifted
• 80 g cornflour I use proper cornflour not wheaten, trust me its a thing check the label of yours.
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 Pinch salt I like flaked
• 750 g water
• 440 g sugar Caster Sugar works best for this
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 60 g gelatine I use powdered here because leaf gelatine is sooo expensive in this quantity so don't smell it before you add your flavour. eeeek
• 1.5 Tablespoon rosewater depending on how strong you want it, it could be more but be careful it’s potent stuff
• 1 Few drops pink food colouring I used Americolour electric pink

For the powder coating:

• 60 g cornflour (or 50g Snow, see my tips after this recipe) For storing, this may be more than you need but it will depend on what you're storing it in?

Instructions

 

Thermomix Method:

• Prepare your mould. I use silicone here because it is so easy to remove from the mould once set. But you could use a lightly oiled tin, lined with good quality cling film, so it’s easy to remove.
• To a clean dry TM bowl weigh in the cornflour, Icing sugar, cream of tartar and pinch of salt. MC in Sift for 5 seconds/speed 5. Remove from the bowl and set aside.
• Now into the TM bowl weigh the water, sugar, lemon juice then sprinkle the gelatine over the top, mix for 5 sec /speed 4
• Then, place the simmering basket on top of the lid, then set for 10 mins/ 100°c/speed 2
• Add back the icing/cornflour mix you created earlier to the TM bowl and mix again for 10 sec/speed 3
• Place the simmering basket on top of the lid, then set the TM for 30 mins/100°c/speed 1
• Once the time is up add in the rose water and colouring, mix to combine 10 seconds/speed 3.5. Don’t mix too vigorously here or you’ll create too many bubbles making your mix foamy.
• Skim off any foam that may be present on top of your mix then carefully pour into your prepared mould. Allow to set for 3 – 4 hours in the fridge or overnight until firm.
• After it’s set. Now here’s a thing. If you now coat your Turkish Delight with icing sugar, like many of the recipes state on the net, you’ll end up with a wet sticky mess. Coat it in cornflour and you’ll be golden.
• Cut the Turkish Delight into desired shapes; I got 48 pieces. Dust your knife between each cut liberally with the cornflour to prevent the blade from dragging too much.
• Sit the squares in an airtight container dusted with the cornflour. *Scroll for tips

Conventional Method:

• Prepare your mould. I use silicone here because it is so easy to remove from the mould once set. But you could use a lightly oiled tin, lined with good quality cling film, so its easy to remove.
• Weigh the water, sugar, lemon juice then gelatine into a small pot. Mix well to combine using a silicone or metal spoon. (make sure your silicone can handle the heat)
• Pop the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook until all the sugar grains have dissolved then stop and remove it from the heat.
• Weigh out the icing, cornflour, cream of tartar and pinch of salt into a small bowl, mix then sift into the pot while constantly stirring.
• Pop the pot back on the stove and cook out the cornflour. Keep gently stirring until the mix changes from an opaque to a slightly transparent mixture. Don’t let the mix catch on the bottom of the pan, and don’t mix too vigorously here or you’ll create too many bubbles. Add in the rose water and colouring, and mix gently to combine.
• Pour into your mould. Skim off any foam that may be present. Allow to set for 3 – 4 hours in the fridge or overnight until firm.
• Once fully set. Now here’s a thing. If you now coat your Turkish Delight with icing sugar, like many of the recipes on the net state, you’ll end up with a wet sticky mess. Coat it in cornflour, and you’ll be golden. *see tips
• Cut the Turkish Delight into desired shapes; I got 48 pieces. Dust your knife between each cut liberally with the cornflour to prevent the blade from dragging too much.
• Sit the squares in an airtight container dusted with the cornflour.

Notes

Bec’s Tips:

• Sugar is a humectant. Under the right conditions, it will draw moisture from whatever’s around. So, if you sit a pile of icing on top of your soft, moist Turkish Delight, the icing sugar will melt and puddle. The icing sugar will draw the moisture from your Turkish Delight and turn it to syrup. Just use a light dusting of cornflour instead.

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