When I was in Turkey this past September I managed to make to to my favorite place to buy Turkish Delight. These are not the tourist stuff sold at airports and in souvenir shops.
This is true gourmet Turkish candy is so many colors, flavors and textures, it made my head spin.
I discovered this shop on my trip to Istanbul before this one a few years ago. Located by the gorgeous Blue Mosque, I managed to make my way back there from memory. So glad I did. They had the best sample platter ever.
I purchased several boxes of treats to bring back for myself, family and friends and also some good Turkish coffee.
Sadly, those empty boxes have long since been thrown in the trash but something clicked recently when I saw this gorgeous post at Adventures in Cooking. It reminded me of all those delicious treats. So in my quest to use up all those bits and pieces left over from the holidays, I decided to try her recipe for nougat.
I’m glad I did because, the candy came out so tasty I had a hard time not eating the whole batch myself.
Keeping with the Turkey theme, I used leftover apricot seeds I had bought there and paired them with a half bag of golden raisins. I still needed a bit more volume to my add ins so in went some leftover chopped dates and a bit of regular raisins. In addition to orange extract, I also added a few dabs of copper paste food coloring (I was shockingly out of orange) because the nougat evenutally whips up an almost white color.
This recipe is easy and so versatile. The combinations of add ins are unlimited. However, it takes a bit of time to make. I was afraid at one point I would burn out the mixer on my Kitchenaid (whipping the sluggish nougat for 20 minutes!) But she plugged along and the result was light, fluffy and flavorful candy.
Mine came out probably a bit more sticky than desired, no fault of the recipe. To counteract that before I stored the cut nougat nuggets between layers of parchment paper, I brushed both sides lightly with powdered sugar.
Every time I take bite, I am dreaming of my next trip to Turkey.
7 comments
My sister was in Turkey in Dec. She fell in love with the country and the people. She never brought me back any Turkish Delight though 🙁 I love nougat, been years since I had some though. Your nougat looks wonderful.
What wonderful flavours! I made some nougat during a sugar confectionery training course and it was crazy how different everyone's results were! Some did not set and some were completely brittle. Well done for getting it right first time!
I've never had turkish delight before so I feel a little deprived right now. Your nougat sounds delightful though!
I have developed a taste for this in the last several years. I never even thought about making it. And probably shouldn't as I think it's so light you could nibble away buckets of it without even noticing. Good way to clear the nuts and dried fruits out too.
Happy New Year if I haven't mentioned it a few times already… wendy
PS – Like that blog Adventures in Cooking too 🙂
I totally need to make nougat myself, but I think I'll wait until I'm at my parents' house and can borrow their big stand mixer. I only have a hand mixer and I burned out my last one making marshmallows. Oh my goodness, the real Turkish Delight looks magnificent. WANT.
I've never had Turkish Delight, but I've always been curious about it – is it a soft nougat or is it more like taffy? Either way, it looks delicious!
It's neither. It's more like a very thick chewy jelly. 🙂