A Lokum Maker’s Perfect Cinnamon Turkish Delight Recipe

Updated 2025

From My Kitchen to Yours

When I first tried making Turkish delight at home, it was purely for fun. I spent hours researching recipes, reading blogs, and watching videos, eager to recreate this classic confection myself. Naturally, I started cooking — and soon discovered something surprising: almost none of the recipes out there were the real thing. They might have been sweet and chewy, but they didn’t capture what we truly call Turkish delight.

Years of experimenting, perfecting, and eventually producing lokum professionally taught me a lot about the craft — about patience, precision, and flavor. And long after launching Marsel Delights, I felt it was time to share that knowledge. What you’ll find here is my recipe: a home-friendly adaptation of the original version we use in production. This is from me to anyone curious, adventurous, or just a little geeky who wants to try making real Turkish delight at home.

If you’re also curious about the history of Turkish delight, you can check out our blog post [here].

How It’s Made — And Tips

I chose to do this recipe with cinnamon because it’s in powder form and is potent enough to flavour with small amounts. When you start adding juices, purees or other things you add extra water to the mixture so you have to cook for extra time and it may become complicated. You can certainly try rose water or pistachio in other tries.

Keep in mind: the original binding agent for Turkish delight is cornstarch. Many recipes out there use gelatin, rice flour, or agar-agar, but they don’t give the right texture. And in Turkish delight, texture is everything. 

Turkish delight is made with just four ingredients: granulated sugar, cornstarch, water, and citric acid. Some recipes swap citric acid for tartaric acid, but that’s not necessary for home cooking. If you see a recipe with more than these ingredients, be skeptical. 

I won’t tell you — like most food blogs do — that this is an instant, super-easy recipe and that you’ll make perfect Turkish delight on your first try. That’s not realistic. This is a recipe you may need to make more than once to truly master it.

There are two key things you need to understand if you want to take this recipe further: water content and pH level.

1  Water amount – This determines how much the mixture needs to cook. Cooking to the correct consistency ensures the right amount of moisture is left inside — around 10%. If your lokums turn soggy or start sweating after a few days, that means there is too much moisture, and the mixture needs to be cooked longer.

2  pH level – This affects the gumminess of your Turkish delight. Different citric acid brands may have slightly different potencies, so you might need to adjust depending on what you use. However, adjustments should be very small — around ±0.1 g — not large amounts.

Classic Cinnamon Turkish Delight (Lokum)

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: ~45 min
Rest Time: 12 hours
Yield: ~1.3 kg (about 100 cubes)

Equipment Needed

• 30 x 20 cm baking tray
• Pastry brush
• Kitchen scale
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Medium saucepan
• Spoon
• Pizza cutter or kitchen scissors

Ingredients

• 1065 g sugar
• 630 g water
• 150 g corn starch
• 1.3 g citric acid
• 8 g cinnamon
• 75 g corn starch + 25 g sugar (for dusting) 

Instructions

1. Prepare your tray
Line a 30 x 20 cm tray with parchment paper and lightly coat it with non-stick cooking spray using a pastry brush. A tray of similar size will also work; avoid trays that are too large, as this will make the lokum too thin.

2. Prepare a water test
Fill a small bowl with cold water. You’ll use this to test the lokum’s consistency as it cooks.

3. Mix and cook ingredients
In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients (except cinnamon and the dusting mix) while cold. Stir well to remove any lumps from the starch and ensure sugar is dissolved.

Turn heat to medium-high. Stir continuously consistently in one direction – not too fast, not too slow. Gently let the mixture to boil. You will see that after 5–8 minutes, the starch will start settting. Once the starch sets mixture will become clear and thick, at this point lower the heat to medium.

This is where you need to be patient. Continue stirring in the same direction until the mixture turns from clear to light golden. Experience as the mixture turns from runny to thick and gluey.

 

4. Test for readiness
After 30 minutes get ready to start testing. Take a small spoonful of mixture and drop it into the cold water to cool down. Let it sit for a few moments, then check the gumminess—it should resist to your pressure. This should happen around 40 minutes into cooking.

5. Add flavor and set
After you think it has reached the right consistency turn off the heat and stir in the cinnamon. then pour the mixture into the prepared tray. Let it set at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight. Do not cover the tray.

6. Cut the lokum
Carefully remove the parchment paper and place the lokum on a clean, flat surface. Lightly coat your pizza cutter or kitchen scissors with non-stick spray. Slice vertically first, then cut into cubes. 

7. Dust the cubes
In a bowl, mix 75 g corn starch with 25 g sugar. Toss the lokum cubes in the mixture, ensuring all sides are lightly dusted.

 

Afiyet olsun!

Enjoy your lokums!