Here's my healthy Turkish delight recipe

Turkish delight is a soft, chewy, gelatin-based sweet dusted in icing sugar. Originating in Turkey, it is equally popular in Cyprus (known as ‘loukoumi’) where it is often served at weddings or alongside coffee when entertaining guests. It was always a special treat to have this as a kid and I would marvel at how pretty they looked (though truth be told conventional varieties are so incredibly sickly sweet and refined that I would end up regretting eating them).

 I have swapped out the cornstarch, refined sugar and the long shopping list of other refined ingredients found in conventional varieties, and made this super healthy version with only a handful of unrefined ingredients.

Finding a clean brand of rose water (made with filtered water and without artificial flavour) is key. Finely ground desiccated coconut is my healthy swap for highly processed icing sugar dustings. If you have a sweet tooth, you might like to increase the maple syrup to 3 tablespoons.

I hope this simple recipe delights you as much as I have delighted in bringing my healthy swap version to you!

Ingredients

1 cup rosewater

2 tablespoons gelatin powder

2 tablespoons (50g) maple syrup

Approximately ½ cup desiccated coconut, for dusting

Rose petals, finely ground in a spice grinder for decorating (optional)

Crushed pistachios, for decorating (optional)

Directions

Whisk the rosewater, gelatin powder and maple syrup in a small saucepan over low to medium for 2-3 minutes until the gelatin is fully dissolved. To check if the gelatin is fully dissolved, tilt the saucepan to see if there are any granules of gelatin on the bottom. The mixture should be hot, but do not allow to boil.

Pour into a small square or rectangular glass container (approximately 11 cm x 17 cm or smaller).

Refrigerate overnight or until set.

Process the desiccated coconut in a food processor or Thermomix (speed 9, 20 seconds) to grind it into a finer consistency.

Place the desiccated coconut into a small bowl.

Carefully remove the Turkish delight in one piece from the glass container and place it on a plate or shopping board (to do this, I insert a spatula in between the Turkish delight and the sides of the container to unstick the Turkish delight from the sides and carefully lift the slab out).

Cut the set Turkish delight into squares of desired size (e.g. 3-4cm squares).

Dust each piece in the desiccated coconut to coat all sides well.

Decorate with a sprinkling of rose petals and pistachios.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

These will keep for approximately 2 weeks in the fridge.

Variation: if you are feeling decadent and extravagant, you can make your own rose water with 1 cup of filtered water and 1 drop of Young Living rose essential oil*, which is potently aromatic and vibrates at over 300MHz. Turn off the heat after dissolving the gelatin powder in the filtered water with the maple syrup, and then add in the rose essential oil, whisking to combine.

* To purchase Young Living products at wholesale prices, visit my website and complete the contact form on that page of my website, and I will create a wholesale account for you, as you need an existing account holder to connect you.

Enjoy!

Love Soulla xx