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Gujiya peda — almond flour fudge with a swirl of coconut-pistachio-raisin filling — is a fusion dessert that tastes absolutely amazing! Serve it as dessert during Diwali or box it up and give it as a gift. It has just incredible flavors of saffron and cardamom. It’s also grain-free, soy-free, and gluten-free!
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Happy navratri! The next whole month is filled with festive occasions and celebrations. Many parts of India celebrate these festivals in their own way. The common thread celebrating goodness, love and compassion, and family and food.
Let’s kick off the celebration with this fantastic gujiya peda. A fusion of two favorite Indian desserts.
Peda, which is basically just milk solids flavored with saffron, cardamom, or both and then cooked and formed into these soft, flat fudge cookies.
Gujiya / Karanji are sweet, half moon-shaped pastries filled with different kinds of fillings. One of those fillings is a coconut, nut, and raisin paste.
I am using that delicious filling from the gujiya in a vegan peda – almond flour peda, and then rolling it up like a pinwheel. You can also stuff the fudge balls and make stuffed Ladoo or shape them like Burfi bars with a layer of peda and a layer of the coconut gujiya filling and then slice into bites.
It tastes absolutely amazing, and there is very little cooking involved. There is no standing around and cooking down your milk for hours to get the final result. Or making the pastry dough, rolling it out and making each pastry, and no deep frying!
We simply make a quick custard in under five minutes and then add it to almond flour to make the dough. Then, we make the coconut-nut mixture in the food processor and just spread it all out, roll it up, and slice, and you’re good!
Why You’ll Love Gujiya Peda
- soft, cardamom-scented almond flour fudge outside
- nutty, sweet saffron-flavored filling inside
- only 5 minutes cooking time!
- delicious dessert that makes a great gift
- soy-free, gluten-free, and grain-free treat
More Vegan Diwali Desserts
Gujiya Peda (Indian Almond Fudge With Coconut Pistachio Raisin Swirls)
Ingredients
For The Almond Peda
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Custard
- 1/4 cup oat milk, or other thick non dairy milk
- 8 or 9 saffron strands, (or use 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom and a pinch of turmeric )
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon corn starch, or any other starch of choice
For the Gujiya Filling
- 1/4 cup raw pistachios
- 1 green cardamom pod
- 1/3 cup shredded coconut
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup raisins
Instructions
Make the almond peda.
- In a bowl, add the almond flour, powdered sugar, cardamom, and salt, and mix really well. Press and mix to break down any lumps, and set aside
- Then, make the custard. In a small saucepan, add the oat milk, saffron strands, sugar, and corn starch, and mix really well. Once it has been mixed, turn the stove to medium heat, and cook until the mixture starts to boil and thicken evenly.
- Mix really well for a few seconds, and switch off the heat. Let this mixture cool down to thicken a bit more for 5 minutes or so. In the meantime, you can prep the coconut filling.
- Add 3 tablespoons of the cooled custard to the almond flour bowl, and press and mix really well until you get a dough. Put this dough into the fridge to chill for 10 to 15 minutes. You should have about a tablespoon of the custard remaining in the pan. Set that aside.
Make the coconut filling.
- Add the pistachios and the green cardamom pod to a food processor, and pulse until the pistachios are coarse-mealed. Then, add the coconut and the raisins and pulse for a minute or longer, until the raisins have broken down completely and you have a crumble-type mixture. It won’t be a dough; it will be more like fat sands mixture.
- Transfer the coconut mixture to the pan with the remaining tablespoon or so of custard, and mix really well until this mixture gets sticky and is easily pliable. (If too dry, add in a teaspoon of milk). You can put this in the fridge, as well. for 5 minutes or so.
Assemble the gujiya peda.
- Take the almond flour dough out of the fridge, and place it between 2 parchment sheets. Roll out the dough into somewhat of a rectangle. You want to keep the rectangle not more than 5 inches wide, so keep rolling for the length, but keep the width around 5 inches or less and it’s about 1/4” thick or even slightly less.
- Once the almond flour is spread out to about 10 to 11 inches by 5 to 5.5 inches, you can even out the edges to make it a complete rectangle.
- Spread the coconut filling by sprinkling it on, or you can even out the coconut filling into a dough and press it into a somewhat rectangle and then put that on the almond flour peda dough. Keep it at least 1/2” from all the sides.
- Using parchment on one side, roll this up. You can either roll it up like a cinnamon roll on the long side and then slice it with a really sharp knife, or you can slice the dough into 1/2” strips, like ribbons, and then roll each one of them. I find this method easier for this dough, otherwise it can get squished when you slice it, and you won't get round peda, but either which way works. You can just shape those peda later on after you have sliced them using the cinnamon roll method.
- Garnish the peda with shredded coconut or chopped pistachio. This is optional. Store on the counter for the day and refrigerate in a closed container for upto 5 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- blanched almond flour – Using blanched will give the best visual results, and this dessert is gorgeous!
- powdered sugar – To sweeten the dough.
- ground cardamom – To flavor the dough.
- salt – Brings out the flavors in the dough.
- oat milk – The base for the custard.
- saffron – To flavor the custard.
- sugar – Sweetens the custard.
- corn starch – Helps the custard thicken. You can use other starches, like tapioca or potato starch, if you prefer.
- pistachios – The nutty profile of the filling base. Use raw pistachios for the best results. You can use raw cashews instead, if needed.
- green cardamom pod – Gives the filling such an incredible flavor!
- shredded coconut – Adds flavor and texture to the filling. Use unsweetened coconut.
- raisins – Adds sweetness and more flavor to the filling.
Tips
- When you’re mixing up the almond flour and other dry ingredients, make sure you break up as many lumps as possible. It’s much easier to do that before adding the custard.
- Chilling the dough is essential. It will just roll out so much more easily after chilling!
- Save time by making the filling while the custard cools down after cooking.
How to Make Gujiya Peda
Make the almond peda first.
In a bowl, add the almond flour, powdered sugar, cardamom, and salt, and mix really well. Press and mix to break down any lumps, and set aside
Then, make the custard. In a small saucepan, add the oat milk, saffron strands, sugar, and corn starch, and mix really well. Once it has been mixed, turn the stove to medium heat, and cook until the mixture starts to thicken evenly.
Mix really well for a few seconds, and switch off the heat. Let this mixture cool down to thicken a bit more for 5 minutes or so. In the meantime, you can prep the coconut filling.
Add the pistachios and the green cardamom pod to a food processor, and pulse until the pistachios are coarse-mealed. Then, add the coconut and the raisins and pulse for a minute or longer, until the raisins have broken down completely and you have a crumble-type mixture. It won’t be a dough; it will be more like fat sands mixture.
Add 3 tablespoons of the cooled custard to the almond flour bowl, and press and mix really well until you get a dough. Put this dough into the fridge to chill for 10 to 15 minutes. You should have about a tablespoon of the custard remaining in the pan. Set that aside.
Transfer the coconut mixture to the pan with the remaining tablespoon or so of custard, and mix really well until this mixture gets sticky and is easily pliable. You can put this in the fridge, as well. for 5 minutes or so.
Now, you can assemble the gujiya peda.
Take the almond flour dough out of the fridge, and place it between 2 parchment sheets. Roll out the dough into somewhat of a rectangle. You want to keep the rectangle not more than 5 inches wide, so keep rolling for the length, but keep the width around 5 inches or less and it’s about 1/4” thick or even slightly less.
Once the almond flour is spread out to about 10 to 11 inches by 5 to 5.5 inches, you can even out the edges to make it a complete rectangle.
Spread the coconut filling by sprinkling it on, or you can even out the coconut filling into a dough and press it into a somewhat rectangle and then put that on the almond flour peda. Keep it at least 1/2” from all the sides.
Using parchment on one side, roll this up. You can either roll it up like a cinnamon roll on the long side and then slice it with a really sharp knife, or you can slice the dough into 1/2” strips, like ribbons, and then roll each one of them. I find this method easier for this dough, otherwise it keeps getting squished when you slice it, and you won’t get round peda, but either which way works. You can just shape those peda later on after you have sliced them using the cinnamon roll method.
To make them prettier, you can sprinkle some shredded coconut or chopped pistachios on these and serve them. I like to also put them in nice gifting boxes and give them to people.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are soy-free and gluten free. They do contain nuts.
They are shelf stable for for the day on the counter, but because we have made a custard and used that in this, you want to refrigerate them after that. If you want to keep them for longer, you definitely want to refrigerate them to keep these for 5 days.
Came out great! I substituted cranberries for raisins and felt the custard was a little less so will adjust next time. Thank you!
awesome!
Any substitute for Sugar??
Jaggery or Date sugar
Sorry to be one of those asking “can I sub ..?” I don’t usually! But Saffron! Soooo expensive! Anything else I can add? Thanks!
Use just cardamom
What a beautiful combination of ingredients. I thoroughly enjoy recipes from other parts of the world. This one has such a delicious combination of spices and just wonderful with a cup of tea. I would highly recommend it and wouldn’t change a thing.
thank you!
Love the sound of these. I’m going to make a batch for a treat.
Could you freeze them?
Yay