Let’s make a delicious, sweet and crisp Dubai Chocolate Burfi with just 8 ingredients and very little effort!
This Indian milk fudge is inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate; a bar with milk chocolate filled with pistachio cream and crunchy shreds of kataifi, a type of shredded filo pastry.
This recipe for Dubai Chocolate Burfi is…
- Vegetarian
- Easy to make
- Perfect for festivals like Diwali, Eid and Holi
- A simple Diwali recipe to make with children
The most delicious Diwali sweet recipe
While a massive slab is tempting, you should probably cut it into small pieces. Or don’t… you’re the boss. In any case, make this, share it and stop returning empty tupperware to your aunties this festive season!
You’ll need to do a bit of stirring, which is actually the hardest part of making it, so even if you think you can’t cook, you can probably do this.
What is burfi?
Burfi is a creamy and delicious milk-based fudge with cardamom. It’s the simplest of all Indian sweets to make and my recipe for the burfi base calls for only 4 ingredients.
The sweet treat known as burfi (or barfi) takes its name from the Hindi word barfī, which directly translates to ‘icy’ or ‘snowy’ (with baraf being the Hindi word for ‘ice’).
This is a fitting name, as the confection is known for its cool, melt-in-the-mouth texture. If you’re familiar with a sweet like the Western coconut ice, you’ll immediately know the melty sensation I’m talking about!
Dubai Chocolate Burfi recipe for Diwali, Eid and more!
A note on ingredients…
So you can make perfect Dubai Chocolate burfi every time!
I’ll link the products and brands I use to make this show stopping Dubai Chocolate Burfi below, so you can be sure your recipe works every time.
Milk powder
My recipe here calls for full-fat milk powder, which is ESSENTIAL. Do not replace it with skimmed milk powder or brands like Nido, which will produce a very different texture to what we’re looking for.
Note that while many people use mawa (milk solids) to make burfi, it will not work as a direct replacement for milk powder in this Dubai Chocolate Burfi recipe. Please stick to my recommendations below for the best results.
Double cream
Double cream (heavy cream) has the perfect amount of fat for making a smooth and creamy burfi. Don’t replace it with milk or butter in this specific recipe. If you’d like to make a burfi without cream, try my Plain White Burfi recipe instead.
Icing sugar
Icing sugar (powdered sugar) melts into the burfi milk quickly and easily which is ideal for this recipe since it doesn’t require a great deal of cooking. If you don’t have it, blitz granulated or caster sugar to a very fine powder before adding it to the burfi mixture. I don’t recommend replacing it with sweetener or sugar alternatives as I can’t guarantee it will work.
Cardamom
An essential add-in for giving any burfi its signature Indian mithai (sweet) flavour. Use green cardamom pods, cracked open and the black seeds ground to a fine powder. The green, papery husks can be added to tea later so don’t throw them away!
Kataifi
Kataifi (also called kadayif) is a pastry dough from the Mediterranean and Middle East, made by shredding traditional phyllo dough into exceptionally fine, hair-like strands.
When it’s cooked with butter like in this recipe and/or baked, these strands turn wonderfully crispy and golden, providing a unique textural element to both sweet and savoury dishes, most famously the namesake dessert (such as this Kunafa recipe) where it is filled with cheese, mixed nuts and drenched in syrup.
You can typically buy the ready-to-use frozen dough in the freezer section of Middle Eastern, Turkish, Greek, or speciality markets.
Pistachio cream
Not pistachio paste or pistachio butter. For this Dubai chocolate dessert recipe, you’ll need sweet pistachio cream, which is a blend of pistachios, (try to buy one with at least 30% pistachios), milk and sugar for a sweet and creamy flavour and texture.
Milk chocolate
Now this is down to you. I like to use a milk cooking chocolate for all my burfi, since it feels the most nostalgic to me. For context, this is what is traditionally used by Indian sweet shops.
I like the Waitrose Belgian Milk Chocolate for Cooking. It melts very easily and produces wonderful results for Indian sweet making.
Alternatively, you can use your favourite dark or white chocolate.
Products I recommend for making Dubai Chocolate Burfi
Pisti Pistachio Cream (affiliate link)
Whole milk powder (affiliate link)
How to make Dubai Chocolate Burfi step-by-step
1. Make the crispy kataifi
Saute the kataifi in butter, stirring all the time to ensure it’s an even shade of caramel brown. Do this over a medium-low heat until its shatteringly crisp. Let it break down into small bits as you stir. Transfer to a plate to cool down completely before using.
2. Prepare the burfi mix
Pour the cream into a large, non-stick pan set over a low heat. Add the milk powder and icing sugar. Stir well with a flexible spatula, until all of the milk powder has been absorbed. It will look like too much milk powder but be patient and keep stirring.
Increase the heat slightly and continue to stir ALL THE TIME. Don’t stop stirring as any mixture sitting at the base will brown. As it heats up, the mixture will begin to loosen. Switch to a potato masher to press out any lumps in the mixture.
All in all, once the mixture is hot (and has visibly loosened to a more liquid state compared to when you started), you should cook it for a further 5 minutes. Do not overcook as this will lead to very hard, chewy burfi. The consistency for the finished burfi should be like that of smooth mashed potato. Stir in the cardamom.
Remove it from the heat and press into a greased and lined tin measuring 15-cm x 20-cm (leaving a 3-cm overhang for easy lifting out later). Allow this to cool to room temperature.
3. Make the crispy pistachio cream layer
Stir together the pistachio cream and cool kataifi. Spoon this over the cooled burfi layer and spread out evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
4. Melt the chocolate
Either use a double boiler to melt the chocolate, or microwave it in short bursts of 15-20 seconds, stirring gently between each burst until completely melted.
Don’t overheat it, instead let it melt gently without too much stirring. Using cooking chocolate will help, since it’s much easier to melt. Pour the chocolate over the cooled pistachio layer.
5. Chill the burfi (requires patience)
Cover the tin and pop the whole thing into the fridge for at least 8 hours. I know, it’s a long time to wait but I promise it’s worth it!
6. How to cut Burfi
Since this is a triple-layered burfi, it requires at least 8 hours in the fridge before cutting for the cleanest pieces. I recommend removing the burfi from the fridge 15 minutes before cutting.
A hot knife is your friend!
Use a hot knife to gently melt and slice through the chocolate layer (to prevent the chocolate from cracking and snapping away).
Let the knife glide through the crunchy pistachio and kataifi layer, and finally apply some extra pressure to cut through the burfi layer.
Since it will be very cold, the burfi layer may seem hard to cut through but once sliced cleanly, the burfi can come to room temperature and soften perfectly for eating.
Burfi storage instructions
To store, keep the burfi pieces inside an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Allow it to come to room temperature before eating, otherwise white burfi layer will feel a little chewy.
Once it reaches room temperature, each layer will be deliciously smooth, with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.
Dubai Chocolate Burfi recipe | How to make Dubai Chocolate Burfi
Dubai Chocolate Burfi
Let's make a delicious, pistachio cream Dubai Chocolate Burfi with just 8 ingredients and very little effort! This recipe is inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate bar by FIX Dessert Chocolatier.
Ingredients
For the burfi layer
- 250ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 300g whole (full fat) milk powder
- 140g icing sugar (confectioners' sugar)
- 6 green cardamom pods, seeds finely ground
For the crispy pistachio cream layer
- 25g unsalted butter
- 65g kataifi (kadayif), pulled apart but not cut as it will break down later
- 250g pistachio cream, room temperature
For the chocolate topping
- 180g milk cooking chocolate, chopped into very small pieces
Instructions
- In a pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and add the kataifi dough. Stir constantly, allowing the strands to break down into small pieces, until the kataifi turns an even caramel brown and is shatteringly crisp. Immediately transfer the crispy kataifi to a plate and let it cool completely before using.
- In a large, non-stick pan over low heat, pour in the cream. Add the milk powder and icing sugar. Stir patiently with a flexible spatula until all the milk powder is fully absorbed. Slightly increase the heat and continue to stir constantly. Do not stop, as the bottom will brown quickly. As the mixture heats and loosens into a more liquid state, switch to a potato masher to press out any lumps. Once hot and loosened, cook for an additional 5 minutes, ensuring the final consistency is like smooth mashed potato. Stir in the cardamom. Do not overcook, as this will result in hard, chewy burfi. Remove from the heat and press the mixture evenly into a greased and lined 15-cm x 20-cm tin (use a 3-cm overhang on the lining for easy removal). Allow this layer to cool to room temperature.
- Once the kataifi is cool, combine it thoroughly with the pistachio cream. Spoon this mixture over the cooled burfi layer and spread it out evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to firm up.
- Melt the cooking chocolate gently. Use a double boiler or microwave in short 15-20 second bursts, stirring between each one. Pour the melted chocolate over the chilled pistachio layer, spreading it quickly and evenly to form the top layer.
- Cover the tin with cling film (don't let it touch the chocolate) and refrigerate for at least 8 hours — this is crucial for clean, neat layers when cutting.
- Remove the chilled burfi from the fridge about 15 minutes before slicing. To cut, use a hot knife (run it under hot water and dry it quickly) to gently slice through the chocolate layer first. This prevents the chocolate from cracking. Allow the knife to glide through the crunchy pistachio layer, then apply firm pressure to slice through the cold burfi base. The finished slices will soften perfectly to room temperature for eating. Note that you can cut them into bars or squares of any size depending on how you wish to serve them.
Notes
To store, keep the burfi pieces inside an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Allow it to come to room temperature before eating, otherwise white burfi layer will feel a little chewy. Once it reaches room temperature, each layer will be deliciously smooth, with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 214Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 86mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 2gSugar: 12gProtein: 5g
Love Sanjana
If you like this, you’ll love my recipe for 15-Minute Mango Burfi
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