Coconut Burfi Baklava Cups combine the flavors of coconut burfi and baklava in a fun, festive bite sized dessert. The filling for these cups is made with mawa (dried milk solids), desiccated coconut water, nuts and cardamom powder. These can be made in advance which makes them an ideal dessert to make for parties or carry for potlucks. If you love my fusion deserts like paan cheesecake truffles, and biscoff ladoo then you are going to love these baklava cups!

Indian desserts share a lot of similarity with middle eastern and Mediterranean desserts in terms of flavors. Flavors like cardamom, rose and saffron are commonly used in these desserts. I have always loved baklava- the aroma, crispy and flaky pastry and the juicy soaked nuts, they all make baklava an irresistible dessert. I added ingredients like mawa, desiccated coconut powder and cardamom to give baklava an Indian touch. And instead of baking whole phyllo sheets, I used these phyllo cups which are much easier to use.

Baklava v/s Baklava Cups

So, when I first started working on this recipe, I started with phyllo sheets and made Coconut Burfi Baklava. The recipe was the same but in place of cups, I had layers of phyllo sheets brushed with ghee and topped with the coconut, nuts and mawa mixture.

It came out pretty good but it took time to put it together. First thawing the phyllo sheets overnight was an extra step. Then I had to brush each sheet with ghee and make multiple layers in order to achieve that flaky and crispy baklava. So, I thought of making the same dessert with phyllo cups which would be much easier for you guys to make during the busy festive time and also easier for everyone to eat at parties!

Ingredients

Phyllo cups: for this recipe I have used Athens brand phyllo cups. They come in these boxes which have 15 cups in each box. I have used 2 of those boxes for this recipe.

Mawa: you can find mawa/khoya in the freezer section of Indian grocery stores. I personally like using the vadilal brand.

Desiccated coconut powder: I have used desiccated coconut powder here which you can find at any grocery store. If you don’t have it you can also use frozen grated coconut. But make sure to cook it first to remove all the moisture from it and then use in the recipe.

Nuts: there’s no baklava without nuts! I have used cashews and pistachios here.

Flavorings: there’s no burfi without some cardamom powder so I have used lots of ground cardamom in the filling and also some rose water in the syrup.

How to Make Coconut Burfi Baklava Cups

1. In a pan add 1/3 cup water and 1/2 cup granulated white sugar (100 grams).
2. Then add 1/4 cup of honey and 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice. Stir everything and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
3. Then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes. Stir not more than once in between.
4. Remove the pan from heat and add 3/4 teaspoon rose water to it. Let it cool down while you make the baklava cups.

5. Chop 1/2 cup of nuts using a food processor. I used a mix of cashews and pistachios. Don’t make a powder, they should be coarsely chopped and you should have nice chunks. Also, separately chop 2 tablespoons of nuts, we will use these to top the baklava cups before baking.
6. Heat a pan on medium heat and add 1/4 + 1/8 cup of mawa/khoya to it. Roast it for 2 to 3 minutes and then remove the pan from heat.
7. To a bowl now add the chopped nuts.
8. Along with the roasted mawa, 1/2 cup desiccated coconut powder and 1 teaspoon cardamom powder.

9. Now add 2 & 1/2 teaspoons of melted ghee and mix everything together. The filling is now ready.
10. Preheat your oven to 325 F degrees. Take the phyllo cups out of the box (you don’t have to thaw them). Stuff each cup with the filling to the top. Then top each cup with the extra 2 tablespoons of the nuts that we chopped. Press the filling into the cups by pressing each cup at the top. Bake at 325 F degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. I baked mine for 15 minutes.
11. Immediately top each cup with 1/2 teaspoon of the cooled prepared syrup. Let the syrup soak in and then add 1/4 teaspoon more in each cup. So you add 3/4 teaspoon of the cooled syrup in each cup.
12. Garnish with edible silver leaves, dried rose petals. Let it sit for 4 to 6 hours at room temperature and then serve.

Make Ahead Option

The best thing about these coconut burfi baklava cups (other than the fact that they taste delicious) is that they make a great make ahead dessert option. You can make them 24 to 48 hours in advance and they taste just as good. In fact it’s recommended that you make them 12 hours in advance.

So, if you have a Diwali party on Saturday, you can make these on Friday and store them at room temperature. You don’t need any special way to store them. And then just serve them on Saturday. Gotta love easy make ahead desserts, right?

Tips & Notes

• According to Ayurveda, honey should not be heated. If you want to follow that you can replace the honey with sugar. Traditionally the Greek version of baklava uses honey, while Turkish does not.
• Make sure to pour the cooled down syrup over the hot baklava cups. You have to pour the syrup immediately as soon as they are out of the oven.
• If you can’t find mawa, using only nuts with coconut powder is also okay. In that case increase the amount of nuts and coconut in the recipe.
• You have to wait a few seconds after you add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar syrup in each cup. The filling will absorb the syrup, only then add the additional 1/4 teaspoon.
• The syrup might become too thick sitting at room temperature and become difficult to pour over the cups. In that case, simply put it on the stove-top for a few seconds. It will immediately start to thin out. Do not boil or simmer, just a few seconds until it’s a little thin again is all you need and then you can pour again.