Vegan Barfi

5 from 25 votes

This vegan version of Barfi, a classic Indian sweet, is made with just five ingredients, including nuts and cardamom. It comes together in under 30 minutes, and it's the perfect way to ditch the dairy while keeping your holidays sweet.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: pieces

Calories: 154kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Ingredients

1 cup almond flour (superfine flour works best for this)
1 cup raw cashews (finely powdered)
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
1 teaspoon green cardamom powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoon nuts (chopped, for garnish, optional)
2 tablespoon cashew cream (made by blending 2 tablespoon cashews into a very smooth paste with 2 tablespoon water)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place the water and sugar in a heavy-bottomed wok or skillet (non-stick works best for this). Add the cardamom and let it come to a boil.
Turn the heat to low or medium-low. Add the cashew flour and almond flour and mix. Continue stirring at very frequent intervals, making sure your flour is not sticking to the bottom. If it is, scrape it up rightaway.
Within a few minutes, the mixture will begin to pull off the sides and bottom of the pan. Add the coconut oil at this point. The mixture will be quite translucent and sticky at this stage, which will make stirring it a bit of a pain, but persist. Since stoves vary, you might want to turn up your heat just a teeny bit if this is taking too long, but around 12-15 minutes after you began cooking, the mixture should turn opaque and dry (meaning it won't be sticky anymore). If you make a ball, it should hold together. Turn off the heat at this point and remove the mixture to a bowl.
As soon as you can handle the dough, knead it into a smooth ball. I like kneading in a little cashew cream into the mixture at this time because it just makes the barfi softer, which I love. You can skip this step.
Lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet or a flat baking pan. Pat out the barfi mixture on it in an even layer, about six inches square (or thinner, if you want thinner barfis). Press the sides to make them as even as possible.
Press some nuts for garnish on the top and let the barfi cool completely. When cool, cut the barfi into pieces. The barfi will store in the refrigerator for at least a week.

Nutrition