At this time of year, here on our lovely Jersey Lavender Farm, we (along with many other of you we’re sure!) find our thoughts increasingly turning to Christmas and all things Christmassy. There are so many things that mean Christmas (and winter in general), but especially food and gifts tend to spring into our minds.
Obviously being the lucky owners of a lavender farm there does tend to be a slight theme to our Christmas gifts, but we are always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to introduce lavender into both our Christmas gifts and maybe even a few little lavender Christmas treats for us too!
This year we found our thoughts turning to the classic book, ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’, from the Tales of Narnia series, especially the part where the evil witch tempts Edmund with a box of delicious Turkish Delight. So we thought why not give it a go ourselves? However, instead of going down the traditional rosewater flavouring for our Turkish Delight – it just had to be lavender!
These little squares of perfumed sweetness will keep for up to a week so can be handed out wrapped in pretty bags or boxes for individual and exciting Christmas presents, but we are also going to ensure that there’s a good stash next to the Christmas Tree for us too!
To make approximately 36 squares of Lavender Turkish Delight you will need:
– 8 leaves gelatine
– 500g granulated sugar
– 1 tablespoon of dried culinary lavender
– Few drops of purple food colouring
– 2 level tbsp icing sugar
– 1 level tbsp cornflour
Method
1. Pour 300ml of water into a small pan and add the 8 leaves of gelatine, ensuring that they are all fully submerged. Leave the gelatine to soften for 5 minutes.
2. Place the pan on a low heat and stir gently until the gelatine has dissolved.
3. Add the sugar and dried culinary lavender to the pan then continue to heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer gently for 20 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in a few drops of purple food colouring until you have a pale lavender colour.
6. Leave the pan to cool and for the lavender to infuse for about an hour, but ensure that the mixture is still liquid.
7. Line a square 18 cm tin with oiled cling film and then strain the cooled liquid into the tin.
8. Leave the mixture to set in a cool place overnight.
9. Mix the icing sugar and cornflour together. Use some of the mixture to dust a board and then turn the Lavender Turkish Delight onto it. Remove the cling film and then dust the rest of the Turkish Delight with the cornflour mixture.
10. Cut the Lavender Turkish Delight into squares, dusting each one with the cornflour mixture to stop them from sticking.
We’re sure that your friends and family will love this new take on the Narnian classic. Merry Christmas!
Read related articles:
