Turkish Delight – The Chronicles of Narnia

“‘It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating,’ said the Queen presently. ‘What would you like best to eat?’

‘Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty.’

The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle onto the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with a green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious. He was quite warm now, and very comfortable.”

–The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis

This recipe is arguably both one of the most requested and the most contentious recipes from fiction. I’ve heard from so many people who first encountered the above description of Turkish Delight in the Chronicles of Narnia, and were then bitterly disappointed when they tried it in real life.

I wonder if we all simply transposed our most desired candy to that description above, not really knowing what this strange confection was. Personally, I think I imagined it as something chocolatey, maybe like one of those airy flaky British chocolates? Definitely a far cry from actual Turkish Delight.

It wasn’t until I lived in Turkey for a year that I actually tried and subsequently fell absolutely in love with this chewy gooey confection. Seeing booths in the sprawling bazaars simply heaped up with countless varieties of Turkish Delight is something I will never forget. And yet, for all that, it’s taken me over a decade to actually knuckle down and get this recipe done- seriously, this original post dates from May of 2012!

But better late than never.

Each little bite-sized square is densely chewy (as all Turkish delight is, in my experience, so I’m not sure where Lewis was getting his “light to the very center” variety). I opted for a fruity version with the addition of chopped pistachios, which add a nice textural counterpoint to the chewiness, as well as a pretty contrasting color to the pink.

Turkish Delight Recipe

makes: 2-3 dozen pieces – Prep Time: 45 minutes – Cooling: several hours, or overnight

FOR SYRUP

2 cups sugar
3/4 cups pomegranate juice (or juice of your choice)
1 tsp. lemon juice

BASE

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice (or juice of your choice)
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 Tbs. orange blossom water optional (or rose water)
1 tsp. lemon juice
Food coloring, if wished
1/4 cup pistachios roughly chopped

COATING

2 Tbs. powdered sugar
2 Tbs. cornstarch

Lightly coat the inside of a small casserole pan with cooking spray, line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper, and lightly spray that, too. Set aside.

Begin by making the Sugar Syrup: combine the sugar and juices in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and reached soft-ball stage (~240F), about 10-15 minutes.

While the sugar cooks, make up the other half of the base: in another saucepan, stir together the juices, cornstarch, orange blossom water, and any food coloring, if using. Set over medium heat and continue to stir periodically until it thickens to something slightly firmer than wallpaper paste consistency. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes or so, until the mixture has become somewhat more opaque.

Working in increments, stir the hot sugar into the cornstarch base. Continue whisking or stirring until no lumps remain. Cook over medium-low heat for another 30 minutes or so, stirring often to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn. When the mixture looks very thick but before it’s in danger of browning, remove from the heat. Stir in the chopped pistachios and then transfer to the prepared baking dish. Chill for several hours, until completely cool and set.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining cornstarch and powdered sugar. Sprinkle a little on a cutting board. Remove the cooled Turkish delight from the pan and set on the cutting board. Using a large sharp knife, slightly greased, cut the Turkish Delight into bite-sized squares. Toss these with the cornstarch and powdered sugar mix until all the sides are coated. Tap off any excess, and enjoy!

The pieces can also be stored for several weeks in an airtight container.

Harry Potter – Chocolate Candy Wands

So, these actually started out as an attempt to make the licorice wands from Honeydukes. I tried a few batches, all failures, either too hard or too soft or just too darn finicky. Then I remembered something that would prove crucial to the development of this recipe…

I don’t actually like licorice.

So the next time I set about trying to make it, I thought, what if I do chocolate flavored instead? And two dozen wands later, I’m noshing on what turns out to essentially be homemade tootsie rolls, and I couldn’t be more delighted. I ate one for research, another one to make sure I had a handle on the description, and one more because it went well with afternoon tea.

While the finished wands might not be up to Ollivander’s level of quality, they do share some similar features: They are of varying lengths, and range from fairly bendy to reasonably supple. They’re a nice dark color, say of black walnut or redwood.

All in all, I’d say this one was a delicious success, and pretty easy to make: Just swish, flick, and gobble!

Chocolate Candy Wands Recipe

Prep: 10 minutes Cooking: 20-30 minutes Cooling: 1 hour, or more Shaping: 15 minutes

Makes: 1-2 dozen wands

Ingredients:

5 Tbs. butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
3 Tbs. cocoa powder
pinch of cinnamon, or Chinese 5-spice for extra flavor
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Lightly butter a 9-inch square baking pan, then place a piece of lightly buttered parchment paper over the bottom with the sides sticking out to help you lift the candy out once it’s cooled.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then add in the sugar, molasses, condensed milk, cocoa powder, and spices, if using. Bring up to a boil, and cook, stirring pretty frequently to keep the bottom from burning, until it reaches about 240F. Take off the heat and working quickly, stir in the flour, making sure you have no lumps, then pour into the prepared pan. Let cool for around an hour or so.

Once the mixture is cool to the touch, lift out of the pan and set on a cutting board. Using a large sharp knife, chop the candy into long skinny triangles. Starting on the wider end, begin twisting each triangle up towards the point. Don’t worry too much about twisting evenly because every wand is different! Set aside and continue until you’ve used up all the candy.

These are best enjoyed the same day, but can be stored in between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container for a few days or more.

Elder Scrolls – Honey Nut Treat

If you’ve ever played any of the Elder Scrolls games, chances are they’ve made you hungry. This is one of the top most requested recipe from the entire Elder Scrolls series, and because it’s usually something purchased in the game, one of the most tricky to figure out. I mean, this isn’t a whole lot to go on:

I started, as sometimes happens, by overthinking things. I envisioned these lumps of tender nougat, covered in caramel and rolled in nuts. It was inspired, but also a little ridiculous. Not to mention complicated! I ate a lot of nougat that never quite seized up, and decided to take a different approach to the problem.

When in doubt: simplify.

In the end, this recipe is easy to make and tasty to eat. They’re nutty, oaten, sweet little morsels made with ingredients that would be common enough in the world of Skyrim. While they’re great at home, I imagine they’d be just wonderful as a street food snack, for adults or children, especially in the frigid winters of Skyrim.

Be sure to check out all my other Elder Scrolls recipes. I’m adding more all the time, so be sure to stop by again soon!

Honey Nut Treat Recipe

Makes about 9 balls, or 3 skewers – Prep: 15 minutes

Note: you can sub in any nuts or nut butters you like in this recipe, and it’ll still be tasty. :)

Ingredients:

1 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup peanut butter
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon

Set out a clean plate. Pulse the dates and raisins in a food processor until there are no large pieces remaining. Add the almonds and oats and pulse a few more times to incorporate.

In a separate bowl, heat the honey and peanut butter until they are a little runny. Add the fruit and nut mixture, plus the salt and cinnamon, to the bowl and mix vigorously until you have a thick consistency. Scoop out small pieces of the mix, squash in between your hands, then roll into balls. Set on the plate. Repeat until everything is used up, then thread onto skewers.

The rougher your skewer, the better the treats will stick, I learned, but I didn’t quite have time to go out and whittle down a twig. If your treats start to slide, I suggest you just eat them a little quicker, or add a bit more oats. ;)

Maple Snow Candy

Today, we’re going back to Winterfell, and apparently so is the rest of the East Coast. When life gives you a March blizzard, the only thing to get you through is to eat. I’m very much a proponent of eating your feelings, and since we’d nearly gotten rid of all our snow, and are now facing up to 2 feet more today, I’m just going to go on eating until it melts.

Starting with these:

If you haven’t ever encountered this, the idea is you boil down maple syrup and drizzle it over hard packed snow, which then sets it. These end up being a bit like maple candy lollipops, or like a hard taffy that melts in your mouth. And oh man, are they delicious.

Can’t you just see them being a seasonal treat when the Winter Town opens outside Winterfell? The young Stark children running about with the children of Ned’s bannermen, all of them with sticky hands and smiling faces. It’s a happy picture, and I don’t know about you, but I could use a little of that on such a murky, snowy day!

Maple Snow Candy Recipe

Components:

1/2 cup maple syrup (or lots, lots more)
candy thermometer
popsicle sticks
a dish of packed snow

Pack some fresh, clean snow onto a pie plate or a baking sheet, and set outside (or in the freezer) to keep it cold.

Pour your maple syrup into a saucepan over medium-high heat. Put the thermometer in, and bring the syrup up to soft-ball stage, about 235F. Take it right off the heat and drizzle it over the packed snow. Stick a popsicle stick in one end of the drizzled sugar and twirl into blobs. Eat, and be happy.

Madame Corvaleur’s Chocolate Dusted Cherries – Red Seas under Red Skies

“Izmila Corvaleur was nearly of a size with Jean, wide and florid, prodigiously rounded in every place a woman could be round. She was undeniably attractive, but the intelligence that shone out of her eyes was sharp and contemptuous. In her Locke recognized a contained pugnacity akin to that of a street brawler – a honed appetite for hard contests. Corvaleur nibbled constantly from a silver-gilded box of cherries coated in powdered chocolate, sucking her fingers loudly after each one. Her own strat peti, of course.”

–Red Seas under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch

Thoughts:

Yep. Scott Lynch has done it again.

I personally liked the balsamic version of this recipe the best. I tried red wine, brandy, and sherry, also, but the balsamic really brought out the flavor of the cherries. Also, I think a non-alcoholic set of truffles is more appropriate to the scene in the book. I mean, would taking an alcoholic snack to a drinking game make sense?

However, to be scientific about it, I dutifully tried all the other versions. Of the boozy truffles, I like the red wine. The brandy was too strong for me, the alcohol overpowering the cherry. A lot of folks like this pairing, though, so I recommend trying several versions to see what you like best. A pinch of spice in the cocoa can also tweak them into something rather unique.

In any case, the truffles are remarkably simple to make, and decadently rewarding when you do. The marinated cherries burst when you bite into them, and the chocolate-fruit flavor is a classic pairing for a good reason. The chocolate truffle coating has a rich and silky texture that will melt in your mouth. Delicious as they were, I couldn’t eat more than about six of them in one sitting, but then, I’m no Madam Corvaleur.

I also had much more ambitious ideas for the photo above, but I’ll probably have to wait until someone makes me a Carousel Hazard set. Which I would love, by the way. Just saying… ;)

Chocolate-covered Cherry Truffles Recipe

Soaking Cherries/Truffle Mixture: sits overnight Prep: 30 minutes

Makes about 20 truffles

Ingredients:

Chocolate-covered Cherry Truffles

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, or sweet red wine
30 dried cherries
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
a pinch of mahlep (optional)

Soak the cherries in the balsamic overnight, or for a minimum of 8 hours.

In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off heat, and pour in the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted, and the whole mixture is smooth. Let cool overnight.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or wax paper. Scrape out a spoonful of the truffle mixture, flatten, and shape around a cherry. Roll in cocoa, and set aside. If you like, you can combine a bit of mahlep or other spice with the cocoa; this will give the truffles a bit of extra, exotic kick.

Chocolate-covered Cherry Truffles

Honey Drops – from The Inheritance

“The market in the little town was a tiny one, not more than a dozen shops and stalls and half of them seasonal. She was able to buy a short coil of sturdy line, a long slender boning knife, and then, because there was so little left of her money and life, she now knew, was an uncertain thing, a packet of honey drops for the boy. He’d never had candy before and could scarcely bear to put even one of the bright-colored drops into his mouth. When she finally persuaded him to try a pale green one and saw his face light with surprise at the taste of honey and mint, she folded the packet up tight and put it into the bag. ‘Later, you can have more,’ she promised him…”

–Inheritance, by Robin Hobb

These are lovely. Hard candies that soften in one’s mouth, bursting with mint-honey flavor. I struggled a bit to come up with a recipe that satisfied the description- pale green, minty, and made with honey. They’re not quite as pale green as I’d hoped, but they are very tasty. In developing the recipe, I wanted to use only common historical ingredients, as might befit a fictional world. As such, the food coloring is optional, but adds a nice tint. Before commercially available food coloring, green could be obtained from clover, or lawn grass in a pinch. I have a recipe for pistachio ice cream that uses such a method; very quirky, but a must-try in my opinion!

These drops would also be absolutely wonderful as individual sweeteners for tea!

Honey Drops Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 sprigs of mint
green food coloring (optional)

Line a baking sheet with a silpat or waxed paper, and set aside. Combine the vinegar and mint leaves, and puree in a food processor. If you like, you can strain out the mint, but it’s also nice and easier) to leave it in.

Add the honey to the minty liquid in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until it reaches just about 300 degrees F. Be careful to keep from burning it, and if it looks like it’s turning at all brown at the edges, remove from heat immediately. When you take the candy off the heat, immediately stir in the food coloring, if you’re using it.

Before it cools, spoon drops about the size of a quarter onto the prepared baking sheet. Allow to cool, then toss with some powdered sugar to keep them from sticking to one another. In drier weather, they should keep fine with just powdered sugar, but in more humid months, it’s best to store them in the freezer.

Yam Candies – The Throne of the Crescent Moon

“Litaz said a silent prayer for the girl and worried over the limits of her own healing-craft. She pulled a clay jar from one of the low visiting room shelves and scooped a handful of golden yam candies from it. The sweet, earthy flavor filled her mouth and calmed her. They were expensive, these tiny reminders of home, but there was nothing quite like them.”

–The Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed

These are strange little tasty candies. Yams are sweet to begin with, so turning them into candies makes a good deal of sense. I made a very basic version, without any spices, although I think a little cinnamon, or even a dash of maple would be a nice addition.

The result is a candy that showcases all the wonderful, earthy flavors of these tasty root vegetables. The initial sweet flavor is followed by the yam, and the color is the same vibrant orange of sweet potato fries. They’re quirky, unlike anything I’ve tasted before, and have enough of a sense of “other” to be a great fictional dish!

Yam Candy Recipe

Prep: 30 minutes Cooling: 30 minutes

Makes ~24 small candies

Cook’s Notes: My candies came out a tad chewy, which I liked, despite the fact I was aiming for hard candy, as per Twitter guidance from the author.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 Tbs. light corn syrup
1/2 cup roasted yam, pressed through a seive
1/2 cup powdered sugar, for dusting

Prepare your molds by greasing them lightly. (I used a silicone mold with multiple shapes.)

Mix together the water, 2 cups sugar, and corn syrup in sauce pan and bring them to a boil. When you’ve got some nice big bubbles, add the yam puree, stir vigorously to combine, and continue heating until the mixture reaches the soft crack stage, around 280 degrees F. When it reaches that temperature, spoon or pour the mixture into the molds as fast as possible. Set aside and allow to cool 2 hours.

When the candies are cool, turn them out into a pile of powdered sugar. Rub the sugar into each piece of candy, making sure that it’s fully dusted; this will help keep the candies from sticking to one another.

The candies should keep in an airtight container for a couple of weeks.