Diwali

My Diwali Sweetmeat Favourites

Originally published 6 October 2025 · Modified 31 October 2026

A collection of some classic and some reinvented Diwali sweetmeats, which are also perfect for your Eid table.

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A platter of sweetmeats arranged in a flower pattern, with lit diyas

Close-up of rose burfee squares topped with dried rose buds

Diwali is an incredibly special time in an Indian household, and a lot of the festivities revolve around gifting home-baked sweetmeats and treats to family and friends – and of course making sure they're decorated to celebrate the auspicious occasion. These are a collection of some of my favourite sweetmeat recipes.

I’m also sharing this post in preparation for Eid, which culminates the month of Ramadan. I’ve done a lot of research over the past month to understand what families make during this time and I’ve seen a lot of Eid tables featuring these sweetmeats too 🙂

Fresh Cream Burfee

Burfee is a firm favourite in any Indian household during Diwali: a luxuriously creamy, soft treat made with milk powder and cream, and flavoured with cardamom.

Quick and Easy Burfee

All the creaminess with none of the resting or grinding: pouring cream and milk powder, flavoured with cardamom and rose water.

Pistachio Burfee

Creamy burfee with ground pistachios, topped with smooth pistachio paste, rose petals and gold leaf.

Mango Burfee

Bright, tropical mango burfee with a hint of saffron and cardamom.

Blueberry Ripple Burfee

Creamy burfee rippled with tangy blueberry compote and topped with white chocolate – blueberry cheesecake in sweetmeat form.

Viral Dubai Pistachio Burfee Bundts

This twist on the classic burfee combines the creamy, rose-scented sweetmeat with Dubai chocolate pistachio kataifi paste, in a white chocolate shell.

Simply Wonderfuls

No stove and just three core ingredients, adapted to be far less cloyingly sweet, then cut into flowers and dusted with glitter.

Coconut Simply Wonderfuls

Just as easy as the original, with coconut, sesame and cardamom, rolled in toasted coconut and sesame for a slightly savoury edge.

Caramel and Chocolate Simply Wonderfuls

Brown butter, toasted milk powder and caramel treat build up the caramel flavour, set in Diwali chocolate moulds brushed with gold.

Channa Magaj

An Indian sweet made with chickpea flour and copious amounts of butter ghee, with a delicious toasty flavour and a delicate crunch.

Channa Magaj and Chocolate Brownie Fingers

One of my most delicious Diwali mashups: a dense, fudgy chocolate brownie, toasty channa magaj and whipped chocolate ganache. Simply sublime.

Rose and Cardamom Coconut / Kopra Paak

Coconut paak, or kopra paak, is the Indian sister to coconut ice, with a floral flavour that beautifully complements the coconut.

Coconut, Caramel and Chocolate Logs

Inspired by a Bounty bar, my reinvention of coconut paak gives it a soft caramel centre and enrobes it in velvety milk chocolate.

Halwa

A glossy, Turkish delight-like sweetmeat with cardamom, almonds, pistachios and charoli, and a pop of colour for your Diwali gifting.

Mawa Ghari

A crisp pastry casing around a semolina, coconut and almond filling with pistachios and rose petals, pressed with a mooncake mould and fried in ghee.

Banana Puri

My mum's recipe for the Indian answer to croissants: delicate, flaky layers of pastry, coiled by hand, fried, then finished with syrup or icing sugar, pistachios and rose petals.