• Yield: 20 pieces

  • Time: 15 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking, 55 minutes, plus time to cool total


Ingredients

  • 1 2/3 cups superfine sugar

  • juice of 1 lemon

  • 4 packets powdered gelatin (1oz/25g in total)

  • 2/3 cup cornstarch

  • 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

  • 2-3 teaspoons rosewater

  • pink food-coloring paste

  • generous 1/3 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped

  • sunflower oil, for brushing the saucepan

Instructions

Pour the sugar into a medium-size saucepan and add the lemon juice and 1 1/4 cups of water. Stir over low heat to dissolve the sugar, then bring gently to a boil.

 

Mix the gelatin with 1/2 cup of the cornstarch and 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons water and add to the saucepan. Stir constantly until the gelatin has dissolved, then continue to simmer very gently for 20 minutes until thickened.

 

Mix together the remaining cornstarch and the confectioners’ sugar. Lightly oil a 8 in. (20cm) square baking pan with a depth of 1 1/2-2 in. (4-5cm) and line it with plastic wrap. Lightly dust the plastic wrap with some of the cornstarch mixture, tipping out the excess.

 

Remove the saucepan from the heat and let cool. Add the rosewater, foodcoloring, and pistachios and pour the mixture into the baking pan. Spread level and let cool for at least4hours or until completely set before cutting into squares and dustingwith the rest of the sugar cornstarch


Recipe from Gifts from the Kitchen: 100 Irresistible Homemade Presents for Every Occasion by Annie Rigg (Kyle Books, 2011). Recipe reprinted with permission.

Annie Rigg
Annie Rigg is an author, freelance food stylist and recipe writer. Her writing appears in Sainsbury’s Magazine, Waitrose Kitchen, Delicious, Olive, Good Food, Easy Living and Red Magazine.