Buttercream Burfi Recipe

Assalamu'alaikum,


I am in my third trimester of pregnancy (Alhamdulillah) and have been craving one of my own creations; Buttercream Burfi! Here's the recipe to this sweet treat...

Sooji Burfi (I used manjulaskitchen.com recipe for this, you may want to double the sooji from half a cup to one cup if you like thicker burfi's)

for the Buttercream....
1 TBSP cocoa
1 TBSP + 1tsp Milk
2TBSP butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioner sugar (I milled regular sugar to make it into a powder)
tip of the tsp vanilla powder or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

14 almonds soaked overnight and then peeled and chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut flakes

I made the sooji as stated on the website provided (when you spread it out for making the burfi make sure its at least 1/2 an inch thick or more). I toasted the almonds and coconut separately for about 2-3 minutes watching carefully so they did not burn (I did this in a small toaster oven).

I then made the buttercream by whipping the butter and then adding the sugar, cocoa, vanilla powder. I added the milk in portions, you can add milk to your liking to make sure the frosting is not gritty. Then simply assemble and cut the burfi into diamond shapes :)

<3 Halal Homemaker

Homemade Vanilla Powder

Assalamu'alaikum,

Many people do not use pure vanilla extract because it contains alcohol (this can be for religious or other reasons). There are other options, vanilla powder being one of them (you can also try vanilla paste).

Making vanilla powder is pretty easy to do, you just need vanilla beans and time! I had 2 vanilla beans, I chose to oven dry one bean and air dry the other. The reason why I did this was to see if there was any difference in quality when drying by oven vs. air. I will keep you posted with the results for the air dried bean (this may take between 1-2 weeks) insha'Allah! Since the oven method was done today I am posting those results :)

Vanilla powder is strong, if a recipe asks for 1tsp of vanilla extract use 1/2 tsp of the vanilla powder as a substitute, also vanilla powder can be incorporated in sugar and so many other things so its really versatile in use.

Ok so here we go.....

Using a paring knife slice the vanilla bean length wise (do not go through both layers only the top layer), make sure you leave a little room at the tips of the bean by not cutting all the way. Carefully open the bean up a bit just to see the inside, vanilla beans are expensive so don't waste the seeds inside!

Oven Method
I placed the vanilla bean on parchment paper and placed that on a baking sheet. I preheated the oven to 175 degrees F. The whole process took about an hour. However, after about 45 minutes I checked in on it a time or two to make sure it was ok. I did see some recipes that said 175-200 degrees is ok but I played it safe at the lower temperature this time around.

Once dried, I removed the bean from the oven and allowed it to cool for about 30 minutes or more. I then was able to break it into a few pieces by hand and used a coffee grinder to make it into a powder. When transferring the powder to a small jar try doing it over a plate so that any powder that falls is caught, waste not want not!

That 1 vanilla bean gave me 2 teaspoons worth of vanilla powder.

Voila!

I hope you enjoy making vanilla powder. I'll be sure to add some ideas about how to use it in a few different recipes soon i'A!

<3 Halal Homemaker

Homemade Gel Air Freshener (using Agar Agar)

Assalamu'alaikum,

Recently I learned how to make gel air fresheners. What's cool about these is that you control how strong or how light you want it and its pretty simple to make too!

Since I don't carry gelatin I used agar agar instead and it worked wonderfully. These were good for about 1 week, I used the small jars in closets since they were less strong in scent.

What you'll need:

1 Tablespoon of agar agar powder for every 1 cup of water (so depending on how big your jars are measure accordingly)
Essential oils of your choice
Glass jars (I used old baby food and jam jars)
Aluminum foil
Food Coloring

I brought the water to a boil, added the essential oil and let it simmer for 1-2 minutes, I then added the agar agar and made sure it dissolved before CAREFULLY transferring to the jars (you can add the food coloring as soon as you pour the liquid into the jars if you are using different colors for different jars, otherwise you can use the one color you like while the water's in the pot boiling).

Agar agar becomes gel like as it reaches room temperature. Once it has cooled you can make the covers by cutting aluminum foil using the jar rim as a guide. Then poke holes to let the scent out!

Voila!

Hope you have as much fun making these as I did.

<3Halal Homemamker