Dark Chocolate Turkish Delight Recipe

How to make homemade Turkish delight, a sweet and soft rose candy made with fragrant rose water. Coat them in icing sugar or coat them in dark chocolate and dried rose petals. This Turkish delight recipe makes forty pieces.

I didn’t grow up with rose candy, but it wasn’t long after tasting Turkish delight that I was hooked. It’s sweet, gelatinous, pretty to look at, and can be intensely floral. If you haven’t tried it yet, the aroma of sugary summery roses is a flavor that might surprise you with its deliciousness. In my mind, few things can beat it as candy but having the pieces coated in chocolate is one! A thin shell of deep-flavored dark chocolate paired with a sweet and gooey rose center is hands-down my favorite treat. Make this Turkish delight recipe to enjoy yourself, or share it with friends and family as homemade gifts.

Quality Rose Water for Turkish Delight

The recipe below will make about forty squares of Turkish delight, so it could last quite a while or be great to give as gifts. When you make it, I highly recommend investing in high-quality rose water and a candy thermometer. Simply boiling the ingredients for a certain amount of time could leave you with a dish of disappointment, and you don’t want that. Hitting the ‘soft ball’ temperature is instrumental, but otherwise, the recipe is easy to make and will have you delightfully (pun intended) bouncing around the kitchen that it worked. Making candy is almost magical!

Chocolate Turkish Delight Recipe

Makes about 40 pieces
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• 4 cups of white granulated sugar
• 4-1/2 cups of water
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1-1/4 cups cornstarch
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 5 tsp high-quality rose water
• 100g / 3.5 oz dark chocolate
• 1-10 drops of red food color*
• Icing sugar
• A handful of organic rose petals

Special kitchen tools:
Candy thermometer

* If you’d like to try a natural food color, try using these ideas. You may need to use the entire bottle of the liquid color to achieve the desired pink color, though: Liquid Natural Red Decorating Color, Red Beet Powder, or juice

Edible Flower Recipes to Try

• How to Crystallize Edible Flowers
• Elderflower Cordial Recipe
• Crispy Calendula Funnel Cake Recipe

Turkish Delight Recipe Instructions

1. Put the sugar, 1-1/2 cups of water, and lemon juice in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir slowly and consistently until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer – but don’t stir it. Use the candy thermometer to test when it hits the soft-ball stage (that’s 240°F). When it hits that temperature, take the pan off the heat.
2. Place the cornstarch and cream of tartar in another saucepan and add a Tablespoon of the remaining water. Whisk it together into a paste, then add more of the remaining water a little at a time until it’s all mixed in. There should be no lumps. If there is, then pass the liquid through a sieve.
3. Heat the cornstarch-cream of tartar water to a boil, stirring constantly. After a few minutes, it will become thick and gloopy.
4. While the gloopy water is still on the heat, slowly pour the sugar-lemon syrup in, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for an hour. Give it a stir every couple of minutes, so the mixture doesn’t stick and burn to the bottom of the pan. After an hour, the mixture will be a light golden color.
5. Stir in the rosewater and whichever color you wish to use. The conventional way to color Turkish delight is with food color, but you can use beetroot powder or juice (may add some taste), raspberry juice, or carmine (not vegetarian).
6. Pour the candy into a 9″ square tray lined with plastic wrap or greaseproof paper. Use a spatula to spread it out to fit into each corner and be at a level height throughout.
7. Cool at room temperature overnight. The next day, mix the powdered sugar and remaining cornstarch together on a board. Turn the candy out on top and cut it into 1″ squares. Oiling your knife with a light oil such as sunflower oil will help it not to stick. Coat each piece in the powder on all sides.

Coat the Turkish Delight in Chocolate

1. Once made, cut the candy into bite-sized squares – mine were approximately 3/4″ but choose larger or smaller depending on your preference. Roll the pieces in icing sugar if you don’t want to dip them into chocolate. If you do want to dip them, continue with the next step.
2. Melt the entire 100g of chocolate in a double boiler. You can create one by placing a small saucepan into a larger saucepan filled halfway with simmering water. The boiling water heats the interior of the smaller saucepan more evenly and will stop the chocolate from burning while it melts.
3. Using a bamboo skewer, pick up a piece of Turkish delight and gently roll it in the warm, melted chocolate. When it’s completely coated, pick it out and place it on a screen or piece of baking parchment to cool and harden.
4. When the chocolate has cooled down but is not yet hard, lay a dried rose petal on top and allow the candy to cool and harden completely. The rose petals are edible but add that extra bit of styling that will delight the lucky recipient of these handmade treats.

Storage & Shelf Life of Turkish Delight

Once made, these chocolate-coated mouthfuls of rosy goodness will keep at room temperature in a closed container for up to a month. I highly doubt that your Turkish delight will last that long, though. Any pieces that aren’t coated in chocolate can also be stored at room temperature for up to a month if you keep the pieces in a closed container.