Sri Lankan Milk Toffee (Kiri Aluwa)

Crunchy, super sweet, caramelized, and bold in flavor with cardamom, Sri Lankan Milk toffee is a unique candy that you have to try! This treat was a regular and beloved part of my childhood. And everytime I take a bite I am flooded with memories and a culture from years ago.

Milk toffee was one of the first dishes I ever made as a child. It was fascinating to watch how heat and vigorous stirring completely changed the look, taste, and texture of ingredients like condensed milk. I’m convinced this Sri Lankan delicacy is also responsible for my sweet tooth.

When I was a little girl I was always eager to help my mother in the kitchen. Which translated to, I always got stuck with the most labor intensive tasks. Like stirring milk toffee for 20 minutes. Even then, I was small yet scrappy!

Sri Lankans love milk toffee! That’s just a fact. But some people I know that aren’t Sri Lankan don’t get the hype. Like Grant. He hates milk toffee. So of course I make it and slip a huge portion of it in his suitcase when he travels. Married life is fun!

What Is Milk Toffee

Milk toffee is ridiculously sweet. It is also flavored with a punch of roasted cardamom pods and a touch of vanilla. I add rosewater since I love the combination of cardamom with rosewater. Additionally, I add flaky sea salt at the end to offset that sweetness. Roasted and chopped cashews are studded throughout the toffee for extra crunch and flavor.

Milk Toffee, or Kiri Aluwa, is a Sri Lankan delicacy. To make this treat, you will be caramelizing sweetened condensed milk and sugar over the stove top. Milk toffee can be somewhat likened to crunchy, crumbly caramel squares, English Toffee, or hardened fudge. But it is very unique in flavor and texture. Bonus, it includes a workout.

Condensed Milk

It always amazes me how condensed milk is used in so many desserts of different cultures. The way it is incorporated into a recipe can either slightly enhance or drastically change a dish. From dulce de leche to Key Lime Pie to this milk toffee, condensed milk is a sweet and creamy ingredient that is a chef’s playground. It’s an ingredient used year round, but especially during the holiday season with so much candy, confections, and toasty baking happening.

My Mom used to make her Great Grandma Sophia’s flan using condensed milk. She was known around St. Louis as the Michael Jordan of flan! I’ll have to share that recipe with you once I can coax it out of her. After I spilled the family’s secret recipes like Sri Lankan yellow rice and butter cake all in one year, I’ve noticed Mom is doling them out to me more slowly.

This milk toffee recipe is authentic and brings me right back to childhood and the visits we took to Sri Lanka. I would climb cashew trees, roast fresh spices with my Mom and Grandma, scream when I saw water snakes, and try to pick up Scorpions. My adventurous spirit started young! Recipes like this childhood Milk Toffee was the reason I started my blog. I wanted to share with my children and all of you recipes from my heart and fond memories from my past.

I would love to hear a special way condensed milk has been used by your family and culture. Email me your best recipe and the story behind it, and I may even feature that recipe on my blog and Instagram.

Kiri Aluwa

Kiri Aluwa is made of a handful of ingredients. Condensed milk, water, sugar, roasted cardamom, vanilla, and optional roasted cashews are all it takes to make the most unique toffee out there. And I always add a splash of rosewater and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt at the end.

It is so easy to make, but as I mentioned, the process does have major stirring involved. And when I stay stirring, I mean to the point you may think your arm will fall off if you have to stir any longer. Guess what? You’re only halfway done. Time to switch arms and keep going. But milk toffee is so worth this 20 minute arm workout.

Cardamom & Cashews

The first step to making Sri Lankan milk toffee is to roast the cardamom and cashew nuts. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Throw a handful of cashews on one side a rimmed baking sheet. Roast them for about 15 minutes. For the last 5 minutes, put whole cardamom pods on the other side of the sheet and get them toasty and fragrant as well. If you love roasted cashews, try this spicy family recipe for Deviled Cashews as well!

Then remove from the oven and allow to cool. Next, roughly chop the cashews. Set aside for later. Crush the cardamom pods and reserve 1 teaspoon of the seeds you find inside.

How To Make Milk Toffee

Butter a 9 inch square pan or use parchment paper that goes up the sides for easy lifting. Set aside.

Use a deep and heavy bottom saucepan along with a long handled spoon. This milk toffee mixture bubbles up and gets very hot. So take the same caramel precautions as stated in Caramel Apple Sticky Buns.

Add the condensed milk to the pot. Scrape out anything remaining from the can. Then fill the can halfway with water. Pour that into the pot as well. Add the sugar. Turn the stove heat to medium. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Next, add butter and cardamom seeds. Note that this has a kick of cardamom. If you prefer to start with a pinch, feel free to add pre-ground cardamom. Let the fun begin! Stand there and stir the mixture vigorously for 20 more minutes. The mixture will bubble and rapidly boil. It will slowly change to a deeper color. It will thicken and your arm will be aching. You may even begin to curse me for ever getting you to make this. Or you can make someone else stir it like my Mom did. Either way, you’ll be crunching on sweet milk toffee soon, so hang in there!

The mixture will begin to have “holes” once it passes the chewy caramel stage. It will look like that sea foam candy, and will begin to leave a crunchy film against the sides of the pan. Then you know it’s time to remove from the heat. Next, mix in the vanilla, toasted cashews, and a bit of rosewater.

Lastly, spread the milk toffee into the 9 inch pan. Sprinkle on flaky sea salt. Let it cool completely before cutting it into little squares.

If you make this milk toffee, share a pic on Instagram!

Authentic Sri Lankan Milk Toffee Recipe

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