I’m sure all of you have seen the burfee frosting in my recent Eid Dessert Table post. I’ve been bombarded with requests for the recipe as well as being asked to make these for friends, and I have to say, it is extremely flattering. When Siddiqa approached me with the idea of doing an Eid table together my imagination went wild. I wanted to create something totally unique, something different but something that still called out ‘Eid’. Eventually I was set on the idea of a ‘Burfee Frosting’, I’m glad I decided on the ‘Burfee’ flavour because they tasted amazing. I have since learnt that the concept has been done before, so kudos to all those women who make burfee frosting/icing as well. What is burfee? Check out an explanation on Wikipedia here. The Indian burfee explained in the post is slightly different to South African burfee, but it gives you the general idea.
Burfee Frosting/Icing
2 cups milk powder
75g tin Nestle tinned cream (approx. half a tin, also called dessert cream or reduced fat cream)
250g butter (separate this into 2 lots of 125g each)
1 1/3 cup icing sugar + 1/2 cup
1/4 cup milk
cardamon pods and 2 tsp cardamon powder
Place milk powder and cream in a mixer and mix on low speed till cream is absorbed. Add in 125g butter and mix on high speed till fluffy. Place 1 & 1/3 cup icing sugar, cardamon pods and milk on stove, bring to a boil. Remove from stove and let cool. When milk and sugar mixture has cooled, remove pods, turn mixer on high speed again and slowly add milk mixture in, 1 tablespoon at a time. Ensure the mixture has completely cooled to room temperature before continuing. The mixture will still be runny, so throw in the reserved butter and icing sugar as well as the cardamon powder and let the mixer beat till fluffy and firm.
These Burfee Frosting Cupcakes were the feature piece for the Eid Dessert Table, Siddiqa and I created.
Give this Burfee Frosting recipe a try, this tasty and traditional frosting will be the perfect addition to your Eid this year.
I recall my first Ramadan after being married, Eid was approaching and I wanted to go full out. I called my mum in a panic and she gave me all the recipes she had, one of which was this date biscuit. I have been making it ever since, for Eid, for Ramadan or just for no reason at all. They’re a great little one to have around the house and since they’re gluten free and I skip the sugar in the original recipe, they’re pretty healthy too.
Date Biscuits
125g softened butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tblsp syrup* (I usually use agave, but honey is good too)
2 cups chopped dates
1 cup chopped nuts (I use a combination of pecan and walnut)
2 cups coconut + 1/2 cup extra
Pre-heat oven to 180c. Beat butter till creamy, add in egg, vanilla and syrup, beat till combined, at this stage the butter mixture may look curdled, but don’t worry it’s suppose to. Add in dates, nuts and 2 cups coconut and mix again. Roll in balls and coat in remaining coconut. Lay on baking paper and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
*I sometimes do skip the syrup as the medjool dates I use are sweet and juicy enough, but I do think it needs that little extra sweetness to give it some pop, so stick with the syrup.
If you’re wondering why these biscuits look familiar, they’re from my last post Eid Dessert Table (pictured below). And now you all have the recipe too.
This Date Biscuit recipe is great if you have extra dates lying around approaching Eid, or if you just want to make a yummy datey treat for Eid, give these a go.
Eid is fast approaching, where did the time go? Eid is a pretty special time with lots of yummy food and treats, and of course we’d like to display them in an appealing way. Dessert tables are all the rage at the moment so Siddiqa (from Cupcakes with Siddiqa) and I decided to put together a dessert table for ideas and inspiration.
Here’s some of my tips for creating a perfect dessert table at home:
Colour scheme – when choosing a theme, consider the colours of treats you usually make as well as any serving ware and decorative items you may already have
Is there enough? – for a dessert table to look appealing it’s necessary to have a few items displayed 5/6 is a good place to start but be sure not to overcrowd your table
Vary the items on the table – having a range of items ensures there’ll be something for everyone to enjoy
Commercial foods – Don’t be afraid to have store bought items on your table, marshmallows, lollies, chocolates all make great additions to dessert tables and take some pressure of you as well
Decorations – Use anything you have around the house, old scarves, flowers and even decorative home wares. These can add texture to the table and help liven it up
Height – If you have a focus item, make it pop by giving it some height. You can do this easily by putting plates above upside down bowls for a make shift cake stand or even using boxes wrapped in themed paper
Move things – Play around with different placement of items, just ensure you don’t leave to much blank space on the table as it will look empty. Choose to go symmetrical or asymmetrical, keep in mind with symmetrical placements you’ll have to have two sets of everything whereas asymmetrical allows for more freedom of placement.
Here’s the list of treats we featured on our table:
The Burfee frosting was a little invention I had been working on and I am so glad it turned out the way it did, it was exactly what I was hoping for. I can’t wait to get this recipe up for all of you!
Hope these posts help you bring a little pizazz to your Eid day this year.
