Turkish Delight

There is nothing nicer than a decent piece of Turkish Delight. My family lived amongst people of all nationalities and so exposed to all different kinds of food. Turkish Delight has long been a favourite of mine and my sister usually sends me a box of the real thing for Christmas and birthdays. This is a basic recipe that can be adapted. Try it once and then experiment wildly!

Pour 300 mls of water in a pan and add 8 leaves of gelatine. Leave them to bloom for 5 minutes then place the pan on a low heat and stir gently until the gelatine melts. Add 500 grams of granulated sugar and stir until dissolved, bring it to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, add a teaspoon of rose water and a tiny drop of pink food colouring.

WET a 7″ square sandwich tin with cold water and then pour in the syrup. Leave in a cold place overnight but NOT in a fridge.

The next day sift together 2 level tablespoons of icing sugar and 1 level tablespoon of cornflour over a clean chopping board.

Ease the Turkish Delight out of the tin and put it onto the icing sugar/cornflour mixture. Cut into squares and coat all the sides.

If you want to add a layer of nuts on your Turkish Delight then sprinkle some on the icing sugar/cornflour mix before turning it out.

Store in a carboard box lined with baking parchment making sure you’ve dusted it with the icing sugar/cornflour mix.

This keeps for one week in a cool place. Don’t put it in the fridge.