I Tried This Popular Strawberry Delight Recipe and It’s a Dessert Worthy of Your Time

Living in a neighborhood with a lot of Middle-Eastern immigrants means I have access to many yummy treats that take my taste buds on an adventure. Orange water, honey, pistachios, rosewater, and cardamom are just some of the delicious flavors found in the desserts and candies of Middle Eastern cuisines. With all of these different flavors also come new-to-me textures. And Turkish delight, with its gummy-like texture, happens to be one of my favorite treats.  

Another favorite flavor of mine? Strawberry. Strawberry season is my favorite fruit-picking season. I’m a sucker for a perfectly-ripe strawberry, and I’ll always choose the strawberry milkshake over any other flavor. So when I came across TikTok creator Amal-Noble’s recipe for Strawberry Delight, there was not a question as to whether or not I was going to make this at home. Here’s how it went down.

Get the recipe: Strawberry Delight

I watched the TikTok video a few times to make sure I understood the cooking method and what the final product was meant to be. When I went to make it however, it took a little time to find the ingredient quantities. I had to do a bit of a deep dive in the comments section, but here they are: 2 cups of fresh strawberries (about 1 pound), 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 5-6 raspberries, half a lemon, and desiccated coconut for decorating.   

The cooking method was also a bit of a puzzle as cook times aren’t clear.  Adding cornstarch to a recipe can be tricky, and just dumping it into a pot willy-nilly creates clumps. Typically a recipe will have you mix the cornstarch with cold water to create what’s called a “slurry.” You then add that slurry to the rest of your mixture. As you bring your ingredients to a boil, the mixture will thicken.

In Amal-Noble’s video you don’t create a slurry. Following her method, I added the corn starch directly to the other ingredients in a pot. There were clumps. However, I managed to get the clumps out once I ran an immersion hand-blender through the mixture to puree the strawberries, like she does in the video. (If you don’t have an immersion hand-blender, you’ll need to puree the hot mixture in a blender, then return it to the pan to thicken to the desired texture.)

After mixing everything together and cooking it into a thick syrup, I poured it into a glass dish and let it firm-up overnight in the refrigerator. By the next morning it had firmed somewhat. I sliced it into cubes and coated the pieces in sugar and coconut flakes before enjoying.

This strawberry delight recipe came out with a pretty good flavor. It was more tart than sweet, which I found delightful. Texture-wise, however, it was nothing like what the strawberry delight I’ve tasted from the shops in my neighborhood. The delight in the video came out firm and gel-like.  Mine, though it held together, was more wet and gooey.  

So, should you make it? Sure! I think it’s a fun dessert. Should you use Amal-Noble’s particular recipe? If this is your first time making the dessert, maybe not. I ended up doing a little more research to see if I could find a more detailed recipe to compare notes, and found a much more comprehensible tutorial on YouTube. It even has some flavor coating variations.

Having to solely rely on visual cues and my knowledge of cooking to help me fumble my way through the TikTok version of the recipe took away from some of the joy of the process. But once you get the method down, I think it’s worth it.

1.  If you don’t have a hand blender, use a regular blender to smooth out the mixture and make sure the ingredients are fully incorporated. Take care in adding the hot mixture to the blender. Once it’s smooth, return it to the pot and bring to a bit of a slow bubbling boil over medium-low heat for about 1 minute.  This will ensure the mixture thickens enough so it will set.
2. Make a cornstarch slurry. Before adding the cornstarch to the strawberry puree, mix it with about 3 tablespoons of water first. This will prevent clumps and help incorporate the cornstarch into the mixture much better.
3. Do your research. Although the initial TikTok video is a good place to start, since there’s much left to uncover about making Turkish delight — especially if it’s your first time making the dessert — you’ll want to research an option that suits you best. This will give you a better understanding of what the texture of the final product is supposed to be. The YouTube video I found worked for me and it may for you, too.