Orange Blossom Turkish Delight

I love Turkish Delight, so I thought I would try and cook some myself. When I think Turkish Delight, I think of glucose syrup, which is used in a lot of lolly recipes. But no, there was no pure glucose syrup in this Turkish Delight. 

There aren't too many ingredients in Turkish Delight, but the time it takes to cook is long. Make sure you have a whole week end to do this. I also thought it would be a pain to wash all of the gear when finished. Surprisingly  with a little hot water makes life real easy. The flavour and reward of accomplishment when the final product presents its self is amazing. This sticky, sweet, melt in your mouth little square is surely a delight, Turkish Delight.

Serves 50 little squares

What you need:

1kg granulated sugar

1.1 litres cold water

1 tsp lemon juice

150g cornflour

1 tsp cream of tartar

2 tbsp orange blossom water red and yellow food colouring (mix to make orange)

sunflower oil, for brushing

85g icing sugar

How to:

1) Place the sugar, 375ml of the water and the lemon juice in a large, heavy-based saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, bring to the boil and boil until the mixture reaches 115 degrees C on a sugar thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat.

2) Blend 115g of the cornflour, the cream of tartar and 250ml of the water in a large heatproof bowl until smooth. Bring the remaining water to the boil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and stir it into the cornflour mixture in the bowl. Return the mixture to the pan, place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly with a balloon whisk, until the mixture thickens and bubbles.

3) Gradually add the hot syrup, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil and boil gently, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon, for about 1.5 hours, or until the mixture is pale golden. Stir in the orange blossom and enough orange food colouring to tint the mixture pale orange. Pour into a 23cm square cake pan lightly brushed with oil and set aside for 12 hours.

4) Combine the icing sugar and the remaining cornflour in a shallow dish. Cut the Turkish Delight into approx 2.5cm squares using an oiled knife and toss in the sugar mixture. Store in a sealed container with the remaining sugar mixture sprinkled over.