A festival of lights, joy and celebration, Diwali is a bonafide event to indulge in an assortment of sweet treats and snacks with loved ones. It also allows you to spend quality time with your children, whether you make candles or cakes. Involving children in kitchen duties makes them shoulder and value responsibilities. These easy Diwali sweets for beginners will initiate kids into the culinary and baking world, without becoming too overwhelming.
Cadbury Gems and Coconut Laddoo
Coconut Laddoo is one of the oldest Indian sweets which gets a contemporary makeover for this recipe. It is chewy, sweet and colorful, and the perfect sweetmeat to experience making with kids. Because of how colorful it is, you can make this mithai for Diwali or any other event that involves kids.
Ingredients:
- 350 gm coconut
- 240 gm Cadbury Gems
- 205 gm condensed milk
- 65 gm sugar
- 50 gm ghee
- 3 tsp cardamom
- 3½ tsp vanilla extract
Method:
- Start by emptying out the chocolate beads from the Cadbury Gems carton into a ziplock bag. Seal it, and pound the bag with a rolling pin a few times to crush the candies. Make sure to not pound too hard and turn it into a powder. The candy pieces should be chunky.
- Heat ghee in a large pan over medium heat.
- Once the pan starts sizzling, reduce the heat and add grated coconut. Keep stir frying until it becomes lightly golden.
- In another saucepan, boil condensed milk over low heat till it thickens up a little.
- Then add sugar, cardamom powder, and vanilla extract to the condensed milk and stir vigorously.
- At this stage, pour the fried coconut into the condensed milk mixture.
- Take it off the stove and wait for the mixture to cool down completely before folding in the crushed Gems.
- Scoop small portions out of the mixture and roll them into small balls.
- Before serving, decorate each laddoo with a Gems bead.
Besan Barfi in Chocolate Sauce
This version of the sweetmeat follows the same beats as a traditional Besan Barfi recipe, except it is a bonafide fan service for any chocolate lover.
Ingredients:
For the barfi
- 200 gm gram flour
- 150 gm Cadbury Hot Cocoa powder
- 60 gm sugar
- 85 gm ghee
- 54 gm chopped pistachios
- 2 tsp cardamom
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For chocolate sauce
- 80 gm Cadbury Bournville
- 70 gm fresh cream
- 40 gm cold butter (cubed)
Method:
- In a big pan, you first have to heat ghee over medium heat.
- Add gram flour to the pan and stir continuously until it darkens to a golden brown hue.
- In the meantime, boil water in a separate saucepan and stir in the sugar until it dissolves.
- Now, thoroughly mix the roasted gram flour with Hot Cocoa powder. Since this powder already has sugar, the sweetness from other ingredients needs to be moderated at every step.
- Add the chopped pistachios, cardamom powder, and vanilla extract into the dry mix, and then pour in the sugar syrup a little at a time.
- Put the mixture back on heat in the ghee-laced pan and keep roasting the mixture for another 8 minutes on low to medium heat.
- Transfer the mixture onto a baking tray that has been greased with ghee. Wait for the mixture to cool down and become slightly less fudgy.
- Cut them into squares or rectangles for serving.
- Melt the dark chocolate by microwaving it for 15-second bursts. Once the chocolate has completely melted, add the cream and stir, followed by the cubed butter, one piece at a time.
- Skewer each barfi with a toothpick and dunk it in the chocolate sauce until all the sides are coated perfectly.
- Refrigerate the coated barfis for at least a few hours before serving.
Ingredients:
- 200 gm mawa
- 85 gm sugar
- 50 gm Cadbury Cocoa Powder
- 23 gm almonds
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 gm Cadbury Bournville chocolate
Method:
- Melt mawa in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium flame.
- Next, pour sugar, cocoa powder, and chopped almonds into it.
- You must stir constantly and let the mixture cook till it thickens.
- Once it has thickened, you have to let the mixture cool down to room temperature.
- Then, dissolve a few drops of vanilla extract into the mixture.
- Using your palms, shape each portion of the mix into flattened discs or pedhas. If you have fun shapes in cookie cutters, you can use them too.
- Then, dip each pedha in melted chocolate.
- Let these treats refrigerate for about 3 hours or till the upper crust hardens.
- Before serving, sprinkle some cocoa powder on top.