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Recipe: Celebrate Diwali 2023 with These Sweet Burfee Lamingtons

Cardamom and coconut do the real lifting in this Diwali lamington recipe

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By House & Garden South Africa | November 7, 2023 | Recipes

This Diwali, it's time to tantalise your taste buds with a delicious treat that combines the best of both worlds! One of the best parts is time spent in the kitchen preparing something delicious to celebrate the Hindu festival of lights. For Diwali 2023, why not try the popular dessert Burfee Lamingtons?

"Diwali is a time for sharing and celebrating with our loved ones, and what better way to do that than with delicious homemade treats? My Burfee Lamingtons are a fusion of South African and Indian flavours, blending the sweetness of traditional Burfee with the soft, spongy texture of Lamingtons,” says TV and radio personality Kriya Gangiah, who celebrates Diwali. “It's a unique and mouth-watering combination that I'm thrilled to share with everyone. May this Diwali bring you warmth, love, and the joy of good food!”

Here’s How to make these delicious Burfee Lamingtons:

Ingredients:

300ml castor sugar

500ml cake flour

15ml baking powder

1ml salt

500ml milk

100g butter or margarine

5ml vanilla essence

4 eggs

250ml icing sugar

Ground cardamom, to taste

5ml vanilla essence

45ml butter

15ml Klim (dried milk powder)

To finish: desiccated coconut, coloured almonds for garnish

Method:

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

Beat eggs and sugar together until the mixture is light and creamy.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add this mixture to the beaten eggs and sugar, folding lightly until well combined.

In a small, heavy-based saucepan, heat 250ml milk and butter without boiling, stirring until the butter is fully melted. Remove from heat and add vanilla essence.

Combine the milk mixture with the cake mixture, ensuring thorough mixing. Spoon the mixture into two greased 20 cm round cake pans or one rectangular pan.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 25–30 minutes. After baking, allow the cakes to cool in the pans for a few minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Syrup

Warm the remaining 250ml of milk and butter for the syrup. Be cautious not to bring it to a boil.

Add icing sugar, Klim, vanilla essence, and cardamom to the warm milk and butter mixture.

Remove from heat once all the ingredients are well combined.

Assembly

Cut the cooled cake into equal-sized squares.

Dip each side of the cake pieces into the prepared syrup, but avoid over-soaking.

Roll the syrup-soaked cake squares in desiccated coconut, ensuring even coverage.

Decorate each Burfee Lamington with coloured almonds for that extra touch of festive delight.