Homemade Turkish Delight (Raha or Lokum)

Syrian recipe for turkish delight in a plate

4.60 from 5 votes

Homemade Turkish Delight (Raha or Lokum)

This homemade Turkish delight recipe, also known as raha in Syria and lokum in Turkey, is chewy, sweet, and aromatic cubes of goodness that pair perfectly with tea or Turkish coffee.

Servings: squares

Ingredients

1 cup icing sugar
½ cup regular white sugar
1 cup water cold or room temperature
¾ cups cornstarch + more for dusting
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoon rosewater optional, see note 4
1 ½ tablespoon orange blossom water optional, see note 4

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Line your baking tray with baking paper and dust with cornstarch. Set aside.
In a small pot or saucepan, mix 75% of the water with the cornstarch and regular white sugar.
Bring to a boil, stirring very frequently. As soon as it starts bubbling, lower to medium heat and add the remaining 25% of water, icing sugar, and lemon juice.
Stir frequently on medium heat for around 30 minutes, or until the mixture gets smaller in size, and thick enough that it's becoming harder to stir. Remove the sugar mixture from the stovetop when it reaches the hard ball stage. The hard ball stage is when a spoon with the sugar mixture is dipped into a cold glass of water and the mixture stiffens.
Add rosewater and orange blossom water (if using), and stir well. This is also the time to add nuts, dried fruit, or flavor extracts if using.
Transfer immediately to prepared baking tray.
Use a lightly oiled rubber spatula or the back of a lightly oiled spoon to smooth the top of the mixture (it should be around 1 inch thick)
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
Once the mixture has set into its firmer texture, use a lightly oiled knife to cut into little cubes.
Dust each cube with cornstarch and serve.

Notes

If it starts to absorb the cornstarch after setting, make sure you're storing the cubes in metal or glass containers. Dust with more cornstarch before serving.
Don't leave the mixture on the stove without stirring for too long or your mixture will get lumpy.
If adding nut, dates, or dried fruit, do so when you add the rosewater and orange blossom water.
The Syrian version of Turkish delights add orange blossom water and rose water (a traditional Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, and Palestinian flavor used in desserts).

Nutrition