These ghughra cake truffles are an amazing combination of cake pops and ghughra (Indian fried sweet hand pies). Think of them as cake pops but with a ghughra filling. Combine store bought vanilla cake (icing and all!) with a ghee toasted mixture of nuts, coconuts and warm spices for an Indian twist on cake truffles! Its really as good as it sounds!
As Diwali approaches, the first food that comes to my mind is ghughra. They were always a once a year treat, reserved only for Diwali. It is a flaky pastry filled with a sweet, nutty mixture of semolina (flour made from durum), ghee, pistachios, almonds, cashews, shredded coconut and fragranced with cardamom and nutmeg. As soon as that filling is being made, the entire house is filled with its sweet aroma and you know exactly what time of year it is. (For a Diwali inspired breakfast treat, check out Ghughra Sweet Rolls)
I combined this sweet and nutty ghughra filling with a cake pop to make these ghughra cake truffles. They are definitely a fun dessert for Diwali but also perfect for my little kids to help make. And they can be enjoyed right away!
How to make ghughra cake truffles?
- First make the ghughra filling: toast semolina and sugar in melted ghee over a medium flame. Add chopped nuts, cardamom and nutmeg. Toast the mixture for a few minutes and set aside to cool. You can prepare this ghughra mixture a few days ahead of time.
- Grab a store bought vanilla cake. I mean you can definitely bake one yourself, but then that means a lot of extra steps. And when it comes to making treats with my kids, they're looking for a result quickly. So I like to grab a store bought cake, its already baked and iced! So definitely a two birds, one stone scenario here. You're looking for about two cups of cake + icing mixture.
- Add in the ghughra filling and mash it up with the cake and icing. If you have the time, chill the mixture. Roll into balls. Dip the balls into melted white chocolate and top with additional ghughra filling crumbs or chopped nuts and shredded coconut.
These sweet treats are best stored in the refrigerator but can be kept chilled for up a week.
You might also be interested in:
- Coconut Gulab Jamun Truffles
- White Chocolate Jalebi Bark
- Rose Tea Cake Cookies
- White Chocolate Orange Saffron Burfi
- Coconut Gulab Jamun Truffles
Ghugara Cake Truffles
Ingredients
Ghughra Filling
- ¼ cup almonds
- ¼ cup cashews
- ¼ cup pistachios
- ⅓ cup coconut
- 4 tablespoon semolina
- 4 tablespoon ghee
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cake Pop Truffles
- white chocolate chips
- coconut oil
- shredded coconut optional for garnish
Instructions
Make the Ghugara Filling
- Heat oven to 325°F. Add the almonds, cashews and pistachios to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Pulse the toasted nuts in a food processor. They just need to be roughly chopped, not finely ground into a paste.
- In a saucepan, heat ghee until melted. Add semolina and toast for 2 minutes. Stir in sugar, shredded coconut, cardamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix and toast for 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped nuts to the coconut and sugar mixture. Toast this mixture for another 2 minutes, remove from heat and set aside. This mixture can be made ahead of time and stored in a dry container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
Ghughra Cake Truffle Mixture
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add about 2 cups of cake to a bowl and crumble into crumbs. Add in a tablespoon of frosting to the bowl and mix together. Add additional frosting as needed, until the mixture comes together to form ball.
- Add in about ½ cup of ghughra filling to the cake mixture and mix until combined. Form the mixture into balls and place onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze the cake truffles for 1 hour.
Dipping in Chocolate
- In a microwaveable bowl, add white chocolate and coconut oil. Heat for 1 minute, stir to combine. Continue to microwave in 15 to 30 second intervals until it creates a smooth mixture.
- Working quickly, dip one ghughra cake truffle at a time in the white chocolate mixture. Then place on the parchment paper, sprinkle the shredded coconut and/or reserved ghughra filling over the truffles before the chocolate sets. Repeat this step for all of the remaining truffles.
- Refrigerate the truffles for at least 2 hours before serving.
Leave a Reply