Burfee

Burfee is ubiquitous at every Indian celebration. From weddings, to Diwali and Eid, this sweet, decadent treat rightfully deserves it’s place at the table.

A dense fudge-like mithai (or sweetmeat), Burfee is packed with flavour from sweet to nutty with each bite better than the last.

Ingredients

Ingredients in bold available at The Spice Emporium.

500g burfee milk powder

500ml Nestle dessert cream, separated

375g icing sugar, separated

1 cup water

½ cup almond powder

1 tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp rose essence

25g slivered almonds

25g sliced pistachios

Method

In a bowl, rub 250ml Nestle dessert cream into the burfee milk powder, until it resembles bread crumbs. Place mixture in food processor and pulse to an even, but not too fine mixture. Set aside for 30 minutes.
In a heavy-bottomed pot, add water and 2tbs of icing sugar and dissolve. Place pot on medium heat, add remaining icing sugar and bring to boil. When the mixture starts to thicken into a syrup, test readiness by placing a drop into a saucer. If the drop does not move around then syrup is ready.
Slowly add the burfee milk powder mixture into the syrup, continuously stirring.
Reduce to low heat for five minutes and continue to stir.
Add cardamom, rose essence and ground almonds. Mix well.
Add the remaining 250ml of Nestle cream. Mix well and allow to cook for a few minutes. (Note that the mixture is quite thin.)
Grease a casserole dish and evenly spread the mixture. Decorate with sliced almonds and pistachios.
When the mixture has cooled, place in the fridge overnight or until firm.
Cut into squares or diamonds and serve.

Tip

The consistency of the sugar syrup is essential to the success of making burfee. So it’s important to pay attention to this step.
Too runny and the burfee won’t set, overcook it (where it starts to brown and caramelise) and you have to start the syrup afresh.