Keto Creamy Ricotta Burfi

 Sometimes the tastiest things in life are the simplest. There’s so much pleasure in a dessert done right, no matter if it’s super easy to cook or complicated.

This is particularly true for the ricotta Burfi, it’s pretty easy to make, but it’s glorious! If you don’t know what burfi is, imagine a custard-like, compact cake made traditionally with condensed milk and ghee or just powdered milk and sugar.

This recipe variation, though, substitutes these ingredients for cheese curds (ricotta) and butter along with a zero-cal sweetener. You can then add many other flavors and textures, but burfi’s essence is always the same; it’s friendly and straightforward.

The ricotta burfi is an Indian dessert or sweet that people make especially for various celebrations. Sometimes, people call it Barfi, with an ‘a’, and other terms like barfee and borfi are common, too.

Why would you want to make creamy ricotta burfi? For starters, it’s delicious. It’s also relatively healthy and satisfying. Added to that, the sweet treat has a celebratory feel to it, and immense cultural significance, so this is more than a simple sweet!

What You’ll Need

For this recipe, you’ll need unsalted butter and a whole pound of ricotta. Making ricotta at home is easy — you just have to separate the milk curds from the whey by adding a few tablespoons of lemon juice to warm whole milk. Of course, you can also buy ricotta at almost any store. Just make sure you drain it well. We don’t want all that extra moisture!

We’ll also need milk powder, which gives the burfi that traditional creaminess and milky taste. Use unsweetened, all-natural milk powder for the best results.

Then there’s the sweetener, and you know you want to use a zero-calorie sweetener to make these Indian treats guilt-free. I use allulose, but any other sweetener will do, look for a sweetener conversion chart online and adjust the recipe for your preferred sweetener.

Finally, the most exciting part, a pinch of cardamom and a fistful of chopped pistachios. It comes without saying you can use almonds or peanuts instead or leave the burfi sans-nuts for a cleaner look. I do recommend adding some nuts for an extra crunch!

How to Make Creamy Ricotta Burfi?

You’ll find a detailed recipe below, but I think we can have a quick rundown of what we’re doing and what you’ll need.

You’ll need a baking tray or a large enough pan to let the burfi cool down to its final shape. You also need a large skillet to heat the butter and ricotta to form a paste. The powdered milk and sweetener come next. We’re finishing off the burfi with the nuts and cardamom. The entire process is pretty easy!

Here’s a final tip. Most people cut the burfi in equal-sized squares, but you can cut them diagonally to form diamonds that look much nicer. Either way, everyone will be pleased with the palate-coating creaminess in every bite of burfi!