Turkish delight (lokum) recipe

Recipe for turkish delight (lokum) in our easy ethnic recipes collection. Although turks tend to buy this traditional treat at candy shops, it can be fun to make it yourself. Be careful, however, when you make this recipe, sugar water burns easily.

Recipe ingredients

• 2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons rose water (*)
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/8 cup plus 1/8 cup powdered sugar

(*) Turkish delight is also very good with nuts. Try omitting the rose water and adding shelled, chopped pistachios instead.

How to make turkish delight (lokum)

• Line an 8-inch cake pan with a layer of cheesecloth. (**) Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cornstarch, creating a thin layer.
• Pour remaining cornstarch into a small bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons water to make a paste. Stir in rose water.
• In a small saucepan, make a sugar syrup by combining sugar and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. Cook without stirring for about 5 minutes more.
• Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar syrup to the cornstarch mixture and stir to combine.
• Add cornstarch mixture to saucepan with sugar syrup and stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens. Mixture is ready when a bit of it dropped into a glass of cold water forms into a soft ball, 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
• Pour mixture into prepared cake pan, scraping sides of sauce pan to remove all of syrup. Allow mixture to cool.
• Dust a clean cutting board with 1/8 cup powdered sugar and turn turkish delight onto it. Peel off cheesecloth and brush off any extra cornstarch.
• Cut turkish delight into 1-inch squares.
• Return squares to cake pan. Sprinkle remaining powdered sugar over squares in cake pan. Lightly shake pan back and forth to coat all sides of squares in sugar. Store in a tightly sealed container for up to 6 months.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes plus cooling time
Makes 25 pieces

(**) Cheesecloth is a gauzy cotton cloth that can be used as a strainer. It is available at most grocery stores or at specialty cooking shops.

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