TURKISH DELIGHT
I developed this recipe for an old student of mine Lizzy - you know who you are! It was upon her request that I even ventured down the road of sugarville! However Christmas is the season to indulge - usually before I do a raw food fast while camping!
There is nothing worse than Turkish Delight that’s old and stale and over flavoured. This has a lovely subtle flavour that anyone would enjoy. The texture is soft and light and not hard unlike most store bought Delights.
Make sure that you store it well, preferably in cellophane bags and then in pretty flip top jars to ensure the edges don’t dry out.
This makes about 100 pieces. Bagged into 15 piece packs, will give you around 6 or 7 packets.
650mls (2 ½ cups) water
4 ½ level tbsp gelatine (Halal if possible available from Indian food stores)
4 cups organic cane sugar or white sugar
½ tsp citric acid
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
3 tbsp rose water
1 drop red food colouring (optional but pretty)
100 grams Icing sugar
50 grams cornflour
Place the water in a large pot, sprinkle over the gelatine and leave for 10-15 mins until the gelatine is soft and goopy. Add the sugar and citric acid, stir briefly and place over moderate heat and let boil for 20mins. Try not to stir, maybe just once to scrap the outsides.
Pour into a 15cm square pan that’s been brush coated in plain flavoured cooking oil.
Leave overnight (outside of fridge) to set. Usually around 24 hours.
Sift the icing sugar and cornflour together and place on a large plate. Sprinkle some on top of the Delight to make it easier to work with.
Cut down the middle to make a cross to get four large squares, then gently
Lift on quarter out onto the prepared plate. With each large square cut into five strips by five to make 25 pieces. Dust each piece in the cornflour and icing sugar as you go. Bag and seal immediately in an airtight jar.
Enjoy!
