This chocolate barfi is of my favourite Barfi ( Burfis ) . A crisp chocolate layer on a delicious milk powder Barfi. For that extra texture I have added some pistachios on top.

This is a small portion recipe because sometimes small but more often batches work better than making a big batch and freezing. Also this Barfi does not take that long to make. What takes long is the cooling time.

I like having them in the rectangular shapes but you can equally cut them into square pieces. This recipe makes about 6 big squares or 12 rectangles. 

Ingredients for milk powder Barfi:

35 grams ghee or melted butter

75 ml milk

60 grams granulated sugar

150 grams full fat milk powder 

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

About 4-5 saffron strands

1/4 tsp vanilla essence

1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice

For the chocolate layer: 

60 grams milk chocolate

1/2 tsp coconut oil

chopped pistachios

METHOD

1. Prepare your dish – I used a 20 x 14 cm one that is 4 cm deep. Do this by lining the base with some baking paper. 
2. In a heavy base sauce pan, add in your ghee and milk. Place on low heat until it starts to get steamy and is about to boil.
3. Add in the sugar and let this cook on low heat until it has totally melted.
4. Now add in your milk powder. It will be clumpy but as it cooks it loosens up and becomes smooth. Cook on low heat for about 8 minutes constantly stirring to ensure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. 
5. Add in your cardamom powder, saffron, vanilla essence and lemon juice and cook for another 5 minutes on low heat. 
6. The Barfi mixture should all come together and almost form a ball. To test it is ready, take a tiny amount and see if you can easily make a small ball.
7. Take the pan off the heat and transfer the mixture to your prepared dish. Using the help of a spatual flatten the Barfi mixture. Try and get it as even as possible.
8. Let this cool at room temperature (30 minutes to 1 hour).
9. Melt your chocolate then add in your coconut oil and mix again. Pour this onto your Barfi and even out. The coconut oil gives it that light crunch and sheen. 
10. Sprinkle some chopped pistachios and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
11. Take the Barfi out the dish, turn it upside down and peel your baking paper off. Turn back so the chocolate is facing on top and cut to desired shape with a sharp knife. 

Enjoy the most delicious Chocolate Barfi this Diwali. 

TIPS

• I prefer to use a steel pan rather than a non stick one in case smells transfer. 
• Lemon juice curdles the milk giving the Barfi a melt in mouth crumbly texture.
• The key to making Barfi is the heat. Low heat ensures the milk powder cooks well without burning it. 
• To finish off I added some chopped pistachio to the chocolate layer. 

Here are some more Diwali recipes you can try.

Neha