This Turkish Delight Ice Cream starts with a sweet cream base flavored with rose and vanilla, is filled with chopped pistachios and bits of soft Turkish Delight, then garnished with beautiful rose petals. It's perfect for a baby shower, Mother's Day celebration, or any time you want a beautiful dessert.

What Does This Ice Cream Taste Like?
This creamy homemade ice cream starts with a sweet cream base flavored with real dried rose petals and filled with delectable bits of Turkish Delight, chopped pistachio nuts for a salty crunch, and topped with more dried rose petals. It is a mild and pleasing combination of flavors that both look and taste fantastic when combined.
What Is Turkish Delight?
Turkish Delight, also known as lokum, is a traditional sweet confection that originated in Turkey and is popular in various Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries. It is a gel-like candy made from a combination of sugar, water, and a gelling agent like gelatin or starch. The candy is often flavored with rosewater, lemon, orange blossom, or other fruit essences, giving it a unique and fragrant taste.
Turkish Delight has a soft and chewy texture that melts in your mouth, and it is usually dusted with powdered sugar or cornstarch to prevent sticking. It is typically cut into small cubes or rectangles and enjoyed as a sweet treat or dessert.
The origins of Turkish Delight can be traced back several centuries to the Ottoman Empire. It was initially made and served in the palaces of the sultans and was considered a delicacy among the upper class. Over time, its popularity spread throughout the region and became a beloved sweet enjoyed by people from all walks of life.
Today, Turkish Delight comes in various flavors and may include additional ingredients like nuts, pistachios, or dried fruits. It is often enjoyed with a cup of Turkish tea or coffee and is also a popular gift or souvenir from Turkey. Its unique combination of flavors and textures make it a delightful and exotic treat for those with a sweet tooth.
Try my Cinnamon Crunch Dulce de Leche Ice Cream As Well!
Ingredients Needed For Turkish Delight Ice Cream
This delightful rose and pistachio flavored ice cream starts with a cooked custard base, so here are the ingredients you'll want to gather:
- Whole milk - I don't recommend using lower fat milks as your ice cream won't be as rich or creamy
- Heavy Cream - The main star
- Sugar - just the regular granulated kind
- Egg Yolks - this will make the custard super rich
- Salt - just a tiny pinch
- Dried Rose Petals - purchase food grade petals to use for steeping the cream and garnishing the finished dessert
- Chopped Pistachio Nuts - The unique flavor and salty crunch is a perfect addition
- Turkish Delight - choose the classic rose flavor for this recipe
Step By Step Process
This is just an early overview of the process, but please scroll down to the full recipe card for detailed instructions!
Before you dig into creating your own batch of Turkish Delight Ice Cream, go ahead and put the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer a good 24 hours prior. You want that bowl to be deeply frozen in order to get a good churn for your ice cream. Then, you'll do the following:
- Bring the milk and cream to steaming over medium low heat, but don't let it boil.
- Add dried rose petals, stir lightly, cover, and remove from heat. Let steep for 45 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove rose petals. In a clean mixing bowl, whisk together salt, egg yolks, and sugar.
- Bring milk and cream mixture back to steaming, and then temper the egg mixture by pouring ½ cup of hot liquid into the eggs in a slow stream while whisking constantly. Then pour everything into the pan on the stove.
- Add a candy thermometer and cook mixture to about 170F or until the custard coats the back of a spoon.
- Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl, and then let cool for about 15 minutes.
- Cover mixture with plastic wrap, letting the wrap touch the top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Then chill overnight or for at least 8 hours.
- Churn ice cream in ice cream maker for about 20 minutes. After the custard starts churning, start sprinkling in the chopped pistachios and chopped Turkish Delight.
- Transfer the soft ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze for several hours before serving.
That's it! A very basic ice cream method for making a super fancy-feeling Turkish Delight ice cream.
Troubleshooting Tips
Follow these easy tips to avoid any problems when creating your Turkish Delight Ice Cream!
- Cook to the proper temperature. You want to cook the egg yolks to a safe temperature of between 170-180F and you also want to cook long enough to add thickness to the custard
- Strain, strain, strain. Even with the most expert of tempering techniques, you might end up with little bits of cooked egg yolk in your custard. Strain it out for the smoothest ice cream!
- Don't rush the chill or the freeze. You want things to be cold, cold, cold when creating this ice cream recipe. The freezer bowl of the ice cream maker needs a good 24 hour deep freeze prior to starting. The custard needs to have at least 8 hours in the fridge (overnight is better) to get fully chilled. Finally, the soft ice cream needs several hours in the freezer to firm into perfect scoopable ice cream.
If You Love this, You'll Love this Honeyed Peach And Praline Ice Cream
Turkish Delight in Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Turkish Delight plays a significant role in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," which is the first book in C.S. Lewis's popular fantasy series, "The Chronicles of Narnia." In the story, the character known as the White Witch, Jadis, offers Turkish Delight to one of the main characters, Edmund Pevensie, as a temptation and means of manipulation.
Jadis promises Edmund that she will make him a prince and eventually the ruler of Narnia if he brings his siblings to her. To entice him, she uses her magic to conjure a seemingly endless supply of Turkish Delight, Edmund's favorite sweet. The Turkish Delight acts as a symbol of temptation and indulgence, and it captivates Edmund's desires to the point where he becomes willing to betray his siblings.
This iconic scene has made Turkish Delight synonymous with the story of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," and it has become a memorable symbol for many fans of the book and subsequent adaptations.
If you're a lover of classic fantasy or the Narnia books/films in general, then creating this Turkish Delight ice cream will invoke a bit of nostalgia for you!
Frequently Asked Questions
- What can I use if I can't find dried rose petals? If you can't find dried rose petals locally and don't have time to order them, you can use a teaspoon or two of rose water instead.
- How do I make homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker? For this particular recipe, I recommend using an ice cream maker for best results
- How should I store this ice cream to keep it fresh? Make sure you're using a freezer-safe container that is tightly sealed when keeping your ice cream frozen in the freezer. Reducing the amount of air that gets into the container will prevent freezer burn.
- Can I make this lokum ice cream using a blender or food processor? Some stand mixers have ice cream maker attachments that you could use to churn the ice cream, but a blender or food processor will not get the job done and I wouldn't recommend using them.
Turkish Delight Ice Cream
This rose-scented sweet cream ice cream is filled with chopped pistachios, bits of luxurious Turkish Delight candies, and garnished with beautiful dried rose petals.
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 3 tablespoons dried rose petals, plus more for garnish
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped pistachio nuts, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup rose-flavored Turkish Delight candies, chopped into small bits
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, add cream and milk. Heat to steaming, but don't allow mixture to boil.
- Add rose petals and stir lightly. Cover the pan, remove from heat, and steep for 45 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove rose petals from mixture, then return to heat and bring back to steaming.
- Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Temper the eggs by streaming ½ cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Then add everything to the saucepan.
- Fit pan with a candy thermometer and increase heat to medium. Allow to heat to 170F - 175F or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Stir in vanilla extract and remove from heat.
- Strain custard through a fine mesh strainer into a clean heat-resistant bowl and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, letting the plastic touch the top of the custard. This will prevent a film from forming.
- Chill custard for 8 hours, overnight, or at least until it reaches 42F or colder.
- Fit ice cream maker with freezer bowl and turn it on to start it turning. Add the custard to the ice cream maker and as it starts to church, sprinkle in the pistachios and Turkish Delight. Allow to churn for about 20 minutes (but follow the instructions for your individual ice cream maker)
- Transfer soft ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 4 hours before serving. Garnish with additional pistachios and rose petals as desired.
Notes
Recommended Equipment
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes + chilling, churning, and freezing
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop and Ice Cream Maker
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Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!
Jill
This is beautiful and looks delicious!