Turkish Delight
Lokum in Arabic - delicious Eastern flavour and so much better than the rubbery commercial versions.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1lb/450g sugar
½ Pint/300ml water
1 tsp lemon juice
1oz/25g gelatine dissolved in 100 ml hot water
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp rosewater
Few drops of food colouring
1 tbsp pistachio nuts roughly chopped
2oz/50g icing sugar
1oz/25g cornflour
Method:
Place the sugar, 300ml water and lemon juice in a tall pan.
Heat and stir while dissolving sugar and then simmer for about 20 minutes until reach 120C (250f).
Allow to cool while dissolving gelatine in 100ml (4floz) hot water.
Add the vanilla extract to the gelatine and pour in to the pan of sugar syrup.
Stir vigorously to mix and then add the food colouring and rosewater.
Pour half the mix in to a 15cm square container lightly greased with the butter.
Crush the pistachio nuts and sprinkle over the mix before chilling in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
When firmer, pour the remainder of the mix in to the container, spreading evenly.
Return to the fridge to chill overnight.
Place a cloth in very hot water and then wring out.
Spread out cloth and place container on top to help release the mixture.
Mix the cornflour and icing sugar and then spread about half on top of the mixture in the container.
Cover tightly with a board and turn upside down so that the mixture drops out on to the cornflour and icing sugar.
Cut in to small neat pieces about 2cm square.
Dust all sides of each cube with the cornflour and icing sugar mix.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge, possibly for a few weeks, adding a little more sugar and cornflour if needed.
My Tips:
The everyday Arabic version replaces the rosewater with lemon juice and the pistachios with walnut pieces. You could also use orange blossom water instead of the rosewater.
Don’t let the syrup boil too madly or get too hot – you want to keep it as clear as possible rather than taking on a caramel colour.
If you don’t have a sugar thermometer, you can test when the syrup has reached temperature by dropping a teaspoonful in to a bowl of cold water. When the mixture starts forming a firm ball with a hardening surface, the syrup is hot enough – “hard ball” stage.
Place the nuts in a plastic bag and then crush with a rolling pin. Scatter the results by hand to give a good mix of textures across the whole mixture.