Home made Turkish Delights and shop bought version; it's easy to make them
Have you ever tried Turkish Delight? These delicately flavored, scrumptious sweets are one ofTurkey’s hallmarks. They can be plain, sade, delicately flavored with fragrant rose water or dried fruits, nuts and desiccated coconut can be incorporated into the luscious mouthfuls of fragrant jelly.
Scrumptious Turkish Delights with nuts in Turkey; they are a real treat
My children love Turkish Delight, and living abroad, I can’t always get those wonderful delights from home. Making Turkish Delight, having them properly set can be a bit of a challenge, but this new recipe we tried at my Turkish cooking class last weekend came out so well, we were all so pleased! And yes, you can now make Turkish Delight in your home! I would allow for the fragrant jelly to set at least overnight (and more if you can). They also make wonderful gifts; to pack as presents, sprinkle a little corn flour mixture into a bag to stop sweets sticking.
Turkish Delight with rose water, and the back, with chocolate - you get all sorts of flavours these days!
Now, a bit of history on Turkish Delight. Prior to the arrival of refined sugar in the late 18th century, the Ottomans made a crude version of Turkish Delight using honey or pekmez, a concentrated grape syrup and wheat flour. Haci Bekir, a confectioner of the time, became famous due to his ingenious use of white sugar and corn starch and was summoned to Topkapi Palace to pioneer the development of what is today one of Turkey’s hallmarks. Special recipes for variations of Turkish Delight can be found in all regions ofTurkey. Sakiz (mastic gum) another ingredient revered by the Sultans, can be used to create a chewier version and is a must if you are preparing rolled up versions of lokum. This recipe is for plain (sade) lokum, however, you may wish to add shelled and chopped nuts of your choice – hazelnuts, pistachio nuts or walnuts work extremely well.
Prep time: 15 minutes (plus setting overnight) Cooking time: about 25 minutes
Makes about 64 small squares
25gr/1oz icing sugar
100gr/3 1/2 oz corn flour
700gr/1 1/2lb caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp powdered gelatine
Red or pink coloring – optional
2 tbsp rose water
Gold edible glitter – optional
Sprinkle a little cornflour and icing sugar mixture over the base and sides of the bowl
Line a 20.5 (8in) square baking tin with a cling film. Sift icing sugar and 25g (1oz) of the corn flour into a small bowl. Sprinkle a little over the base and sides of the tin. Set bowl aside.
Put caster sugar, lemon juice and water into large pan, heat gently until dissolved
Put caster sugar, lemon juice and 400ml (14fl oz) water into large pan. Heat gently until dissolved – do not boil. In a small bowl, mix the remaining corn flour with 100ml (3 1/2 fl oz) cold water, and then stir into sugar syrup. Sprinkle gelatine over liquid and stir with balloon whisk to break up lumps. Bring to boil, then simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, whisking often. The mixture should thicken and turn pale yellow.
Gelatine helps set the Turkish Delight and rose water adds a delicately perfumed flavor
Remove from heat and whisk in a little food coloring to turn mixture into light pink (optional). Set aside for 5 min. Stir in rose water and pour into tin. Leave to set in a cool place overnight.
Leave to set Turkish Delight in a cool place overnight
Dust a board with some reserved corn flour mixture, and then invert Turkish Delight on to it. Remove tin; peel off clingfilm. Cut into cubes, and then roll each gently in corn flour mixture to coat.
Dusting a board with the corn flour and icing sugar mixture really helps for the jelly not to stick
Sprinkle over a little glitter, if using. Store in an airtight container with remaining corn flour mixture at cool room temperature for up to 1 month. To pack as gifts, sprinkle a little corn flour mixture into a bag to stop sweets sticking.
Home made Turkish Delights; you will be pleased with the outcome
Turkish Delight goes so well with Turkish Coffee, and here is the recipe, of you would like to try.
Turkish Cofffee - Turk Kahvesi- goes so well with Turkish Delight
I love all these copper pots and saucers to make and serve sweets and Turkish Coffee; this stall has been at the Ortakoy Market in Istanbul
And here are few photos from our Turkish cooking class; you can also see more photos, recipes and what we have been up to at Ozlem’s Turkish Table Facebook page.
- It was a joy to share Turkish cuisine and traditions at the cooking class
Turkish Delights have been a big hit at our cooking class
Wishing you all a delicious week ahead, Afiyet Olsun!
Ozlem
I was born and bred in Turkey, and lived there for 30 years. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this rich and welcoming culture. Turkish cuisine is healthy, delicious, affordable and most recipes are very easy to make. Here, I would like to show you how you can recreate these wonderful recipes in your own home. Living in England, I also cook other Mediterranean inspired dishes and some wonderful sweet treats. I hope the recipes may inspire you to have a go!
I’ve been wanting to making Loukoumia for ages and this post might just be the one to nudge me…thank you Ozlem!
Kalimeras Peter
I love the word Loukoumia, glad the recipe inspired, look forward to checking out your version:)
What a fantastic post! really lovely. I adore Turkish Delight – it really is a treat – great to have a recipe for it – thanks!
Mary x
You are welcome Mary, this recipe is a keeper, so glad they turned up well
wow ..yummy,..thx for d recipe…i have ate while my trip to turkey..bt no idea how is done..now i know.
You are very welcome Subhie!
Ozlem, I can’t think of anything more fun to make than these little beauties! As you probably know, they are also very popular in Lebanon (no doubt brought in when the Ottomans reigned in these parts); there is also a Lebanese dessert which is very similar with rose water and walnuts, but the starch used is wheat based. Yours look fabulous!
Thank you Joumana, we do share a lot of culinary heritage and that’s wonderful. Your version with wheat based starch sounds wonderful, is there any chance you can share the recipe? So glad you liked these treats!
I love Turkish Delight – when last in Turkey we found some with figs in it – yum! I admire you Özlem that you can make it yourself – one more thing you will have to teach me when I come to London.
Dear Barbara, I bet the Turkish Delights you had with figs must have been amazing, what a combo. I so look forward to lots of cooking together when you come to England
Just wonderful, Ozlem! I had no idea you could make these at home. And, as always, I love your photos from Istanbul.
Thanks Susan, I was also pleasantly surprised how well they turned out!
Ozlem…again another food item that we have in common.in lebanon we serve the rose water lokum sandwiched between two cookies during Ashoura.
What a lovely idea Nadine, we also have Asure, another common traditions, so wonderful to see.
Thanks for sharing your lokum recipe! I’ve been wanting to make for awhile, but have been dreading the amount of work.
Do you think your ratios would work for my ingredients here in Turkey? The reason I ask is that I have had issues with the icing sugar here bc it’s more grainy than what I was used to in the US.
Hi Joy, my pleasure. I wonder if you use powdered sugar in Turkey for better results? Or would it work if you grind them finely with food processor? That\s what I do to turn coarse bulgur to fine bulgur, hope it works. let me know if i can help more, good luck!;)
I love Turkish Delights they always make me think of the Narnia books and being in Turkey.
Thanks Diane, they are fairly easy to make too, glad you enjoy them.
I have never tried these! They’re definitely on my list now.
Thanks Jen, glad you will have a go at them!
These look delicious, Ozlem! And the pictures of the Turkish markets always remind me of India…so colorful and rich with culture:) and the coffee looks so inviting…
Thank you Peri, I love those colorful markets too. We have to have Turkish coffee together, I am adding on the list
I love Turkish Delight but the quality is so variable when I buy it. I’ve never thought of making my own – I always thought it would be just too difficult and involve some kind of alchemy. I’ve no excuse now – it looks very inviting.
Thanks Phil, I had the same thoughts before I had a go to this recipe, it is by far as close as I can get to the real thing! Home made version is still a little on the softer side, though the texture and taste has been really satisfying for me. I hope yours turn out well. Just to let you know, the Turkish Market in Cheam also carries out wonderful Turkish delights from home. Good luck!:)
Selam Ozlem,
, and i have to say, your web is also one of my daily inspiration. Would like to thank for great recipes, lovely pics and stories 
iam slovak girl, living in Slovakia with my turkish boyfriend. Since we are together, iam trying to prepare some of turkish food to make my man little bit happy here
Thanks for sharing lokum as well, definitely i will try it!
Elena
ps. if u are little interesting in how slovak girl cooks turkish food, i invite u to my blog : http://nazarboncukagaci.blogspot.sk/
Merhaba Elena,
I am glad the blog is helping out with inspirations, you are very welcome. I know Turkish man would appreciate food from home so well done you 
look forward to checking your blog!
So wonderful to get your comment, thank you so much
Wow, that’s great that you’ve worked out a way to make your own lokum. It certainly looks the part. Got to say, I love your photo of Ortaköy market in Istanbul, too!
Julia
Thanks Julia, it looked and tasted very similar to the real thing, children loved it so I take it as a success
I love Ortakoy too, it is beautiful anytime of the year.
I’ve never tried Turkish Delight but these look delicious! Turkish Delight reminds me of the book “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” – one of the characters ate a whole box in a sitting!
Hi Laura, I hope you can have a go sometime, they are lovely treats! My kids can be one of the characters in that book and (if allowed), they would gallup a whole box! many thanks for stopping by.
Hello nice to have this recipe! I was just wondering, what will turkish women add instead of gelatine (because its made from pork)?
and I would like to leave a comment for NazarBoncuk if you dont mind bcos there is no option for anonymous accounts like mine:
Wow You really cook nice turkish meals, Im from Poland and found your site, your eriste really inspired me, Natalie
Hello Natalie, many thanks for your comment. I have seen corn starch being used in the making of Turkish Delight too, so perhaps it may help? really glad the blog has given inspiration : )
I use gelatine from cows.
I just came back from an amazing vacation in Istanbul! I absolutely loved everything about Turkey, especially the cuisine!
We bought lokum from Hafiz Mustafa made out of honey instead of sugar and got a variety of flavors, including my favorite – pomegranate and pistachio nuts. I was hoping the big box I bought would last a few weeks but I don’t think it will last the weekend!
My question – how can (or can we) adjust your recipe to use honey instead of sugar? And any ideas on how to make the pomegranate flavor?
Thanks!
Hellos from Istanbul, thanks for the comment -delighted to hear you enjoyed your time in Istanbul! Honey has more intense and sweet taste so I would use less honey – perhaps 1/3 less- . I haven’t experimented with the pomegranate flavor – you will need the pomegranate molasses for it. Again, pomegranate molasses has a strong, concentrated flavor, so I would go easy on it, perhaps a few teaspoonsfuls to start with, taste and see if you’d like to add more to it.
When you make Turkish Delight, do make sure to rest the mixture at least overnight.
Hope all these helps – let us know how it turns out:)
I do want to make my own! I love Turkish delight and would love to try making them. It seems quite straightforward. Thank you for this tip!
You are welcome Alida, it really is fun to make Turkish Delight and home made version tastes much better. Try to let is rest overnight before cutting, that helps the Turkish Delight to set. Hope you enjoy it!:)
Hi Ozlem, Thank you so much for this recipe! It was a breeze to follow and the turkish delights were a success. My mother has tried various recipes and had no luck in the past, each time the final product was too wet and never set adequately, so she was really pleased when we followed your recipe and it worked!
We will be making another batch today and aim to make them a bit more chewier as the first batch were a little soft. Do you have any recommendations on how we can achieve a firmer consistency? My mother suggested to let it simmer for a little longer and maybe place it in the fridge to set, what do you think?
Any advice will be much appreciated, thank you.
Dear Linda, I am so glad to hear your Turkish Delight was a success, wonderful news! This recipe by far the most successful for me too; it is a challenge to achieve a firmer consistency with home made ones, as we don’t use any other additives. I realised the Turkish Delights set firmer the next day or two, so that’s to bear in mind. If you want them to be chewier, you may want to use a little mastic gum? It certainly helps with that, especially if you like the taste too. Another idea I thought to maybe use a little more gelatin?
Putting the delights in fridge maybe a little tricky as it may cause the sugar to crystalise, but I hope above suggestions would help. Thank you so much for taking the time to write and I look forward to your next feedback! My best wishes to you and your mother,
Ozlem
Wow, you make it look so easy! I’ll bookmark this one for sure, since I’d love to try making my own Turkish Delight someday! : )
Thanks Alison, it is easier than you think – hope you can give it a go!
Thank you so much for sharing it here! It was always in my mind to try it one day, but I was just afraid of failure! You inspired me to try it soon! These look absolutely perfect! I enjoyed the pictures of your cooking class too!
Merhaba Zeynep, you are very welcome
We all sometimes need a little encouragement, glad this one did it for you : ) I think yours will be yummy, greatly look forward to your creations! x ozlem
Thanks for the mention Natalie !:)
Good idea, thanks Nadine – did the gelatine from cows work well?