Vegan Turkish Delight Recipe
Gelatin free and full of flavour. Make for a gift for someone special or indulge yourself in this sweet treat.
- 800 g (28 oz, 4 cups) sugar
- 120 g (4½ oz, 1 cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp rosewater
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- Few drops of food colouring
For the dusting
- 160 g (5½ oz, 1 cup) icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
- 30 g (1 oz, ¼ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
- Extra icing sugar
Method
- Place 375 ml (12½ fl oz, 1½ cups) water in a pan. Add in the lemon juice and sugar. Bring to the boil while stirring.
- Once the mixture comes to the boil keep stirring until the temperature reaches 115°C (240°F) on a candy thermometer. This is also known as the soft-ball stage.
- Turn the heat off from the sugar mixture. In a separate pan add 500 ml (17 fl oz, 2 cups) of water. Add in the cream of tartar and the cornflour. Whisk to remove lumps.
- Continue whisking while you bring the cornflour water to the boil. Once it becomes a gluey paste remove from the heat.
- Add a small amount of the the sugar syrup to the gluey paste and whisk to incorporate. Continue adding the syrup a bit at a time, whisking between each addition.
- Bring the mixture to the boil. Turn the heat down and allow to simmer very gently for about an hour. Stir frequently.
- By now the mixture should be an amber colour. Add in the rosewater and a few drops of food colouring. Mix well.
- Take a 20cmx20cm (8″x8″) baking tin, oil lightly, line with baking paper and lightly oil the baking paper. Pour in the Turkish Delight, cover and leave for several hours to cool completely.
- Dust the Turkish Delight with icing sugar and turn it out onto a surface dusted liberally with icing sugar. Remove the baking paper.
- Cut the slab of Turkish Delight into squares using a pizza cutter or a lightly-oiled knife.
- Sift the icing sugar and cornflour into a large bowl and add the squares of Turkish Delight. Mix well.
- Storage: Store the Turkish Delight in a sealed box together with all the icing sugar/cornflour mixture. Best to not store in a fridge. You can always add different flavours to make it even more tempting!