This silky, fragrant saffron phirni (also called fereni) is a Persian-style milk custard scented with saffron, rosewater, and cardamom. It’s lovely on its own in tall glasses. Alternatively, it makes for a great layer in the saffron orange trifle we made on Hallmark Channel's Baked with Love: Holiday, where my husband and I were contestants! And we won the week with that dessert. 🤗 However you use this custard, it’s luxuriously creamy and surprisingly easy to make.
Another lovely component of our winning trifle is an orange cake recipe from my husband's grandmother. It pairs really well with this custard.
For more easy desserts like this one, you may enjoy my chocolate mascarpone mousse, which is also super creamy and delish!
And check out my page on Hallmark Channel's Baked with Love: Holiday to see some of the other recipes we used on TV! 📺
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📋 Ingredients for Saffron Phirni
Below are some highlights of ingredients used here, with all the details in the recipe card below. Note that this recipe yields roughly 6–8 servings in medium-sized glasses. Adjust sugar/rose/cardamom to taste.
- Rice flour - This ingredient gives the custard its base and unique flavor and texture.
- Xanthan gum – While optional, this ingredient helps thicken the custard, making it set more quickly. It also gives it a bit of a silkiness.
- Ground cardamom – For the strongest flavor, we recommend grinding the seeds of cardamom. If that's not available to you, ground cardamom from the spice section of your grocery store works as well. Just experiment and add to taste.
- Rosewater – This lovely floral ingredient adds a sweetness and lightness to this custard. A little goes a long way, though, so don't get heavy-handed with pouring this! Taste test to your liking.
- Saffron water – Follow the steps below for blooming your saffron! This helps its flavor infuse more readily throughout this dish.
- To garnish (optional): Who doesn't love to dress up their desserts just a bit?! We recommend chopped pistachios, dried rose petals, or orange zest.
🧊 Saffron Water Blooming Instructions
Saffron water is important here, as it's key in your custard as well as the orange cake glaze.
- Crush the saffron - Use a mortar & pestle (or back of a spoon on a plate) to grind the saffron threads. Add a pinch of sugar or salt if desired. Adding a tiny pinch of sugar or salt helps with grinding.
From there, you have two options:
Option A: Ice-Bloom Option (Slower, maximum aroma & color)
- Place the crushed saffron into a small glass.
- Add about 6-8 small/medium ice cubes (or 4-6 slightly larger cubes) so that when they melt you’ll have ~8 tablespoon of liquid.
- Let sit at room temperature until the ice is fully melted (approximately 45-60 minutes). Once melted and the liquid turns a deep golden-orange hue, the saffron infusion is ready for use.
Option B: Hot-Bloom Option (Faster, use when short on time)
- Heat water until it is very hot but not at a rolling boil (target roughly 70-80 °C or 160-175 °F) to avoid degrading the delicate compounds in saffron.
- Pour ~8 tablespoons (≈120 mL) of this hot water into the cup containing the crushed saffron.
- Let steep for ~5-15 minutes until the liquid turns a deep golden-orange hue, the saffron infusion is ready for use.
💡 Store any leftover infusion in a sealed container in the fridge (ideally use within the next 3-5 days).
Preparing the Saffron Phirni
Sift rice flour into a medium bowl. Whisk in cold milk to form a smooth slurry. Let rest 5–10 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the xanthan gum into the sugar (this prevents clumping later).
In a medium saucepan, combine whole milk, along with your sugar, xanthan gum mixture, and pinch of salt. Heat gently over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just below boiling (~70–80°C / 160–175°F).
Reduce heat to medium-low. Slowly whisk in the rice flour slurry in a thin stream while constantly whisking to avoid lumps.
Stir in butter. Once incorporated, add your saffron water, rosewater, and ground cardamom seeds - adjust flavor to taste. Remove from heat.
Continue to whisk gently over medium-low heat for 10–15 minutes, or until the
custard thickens to a spoonable, glossy pudding consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon and fall in soft mounds when dropped.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve if desired for ultra-smooth texture.
Transfer to pans to chill in fridge until fully set (20–30 min).
To expedite cooling and setting time, you can use two pans, but scooping the custard into one pan works fine, too! It may just require a bit more time to firm up.
💭 Top Tips for a Silky Custard
- Traditional saffron bloom: Finely grind saffron over a few ice cubes; add 2–4 tablespoon water and let the ice melt at room temp. Use this “saffron water” for vivid color and aroma.
- Adjusting thickness: For firmer layers, cook an extra 1–2 minutes after thickening; for spoonable pudding, stop right when it mounds softly.
- Minimize lumps: Mix xanthan into sugar first, and whisk the slurry in slowly.
💡Substitutions and Variations
While I have not tested the options below, they're worth considering to tweak this dessert to your liking. If you try one of these, I'd love to hear how it goes!
- No xanthan: omit; texture will still set from rice flour (slightly less glossy).
- Dairy-free: full-fat canned coconut milk will set softer; add up to +½ tablespoon (4 g) extra rice flour if you need more body.
- Flavor swap: orange blossom water for rosewater; lemon zest stirred in at the end.
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❄️ Storing and Serving Saffron Phirni
Chill covered up to 3 days.
Freezing isn't recommended, as starchy gels can weep and get a little run. That said, the flavor will still be good, just a different consistency.
Serve your saffron phirni cold or gently re-whisk and warm to loosen for a softer pudding.
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Saffron Phirni - Persian-style Milk Custard
- Total Time: 1.25 hours
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This silky, fragrant saffron phirni (also called fereni) is a Persian-style milk custard scented with saffron, rosewater, and cardamom. It’s lovely on its own in tall glasses.
Ingredients
- 100g rice flour (sifted)
- 900ml whole milk (split: 250ml cold for + 650ml warm)
- 150g granulated sugar (adjust to taste)
- ⅛ tsp xanthan gum
- 1-1.5 teaspoon ground cardamom (or to taste)
- 1½ tablespoons rosewater
- 2-3 tablespoons of saffron water (saffron finely ground over a few ice cubes and
- left to melt at room temperature (traditional Iranian method)
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter, room temperature
Instructions
- Sift rice flour into a medium bowl. Whisk in 300ml cold milk to form a smooth slurry. Let rest 5–10 minutes
- In a small bowl, mix xanthan gum into sugar (this prevents clumping later).
- In a medium saucepan, combine: 600ml whole milk, Sugar + xanthan gum mixture, pinch of salt
- Heat gently over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just below boiling (~70–80°C / 160–175°F).
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Slowly whisk in the rice flour slurry in a thin stream while constantly whisking to avoid lumps.
- Once incorporated, add: saffron water, Rosewater, Ground cardamom.
- Adjust to taste.
- Continue to whisk gently over medium-low heat for 10–15 minutes, or until the custard thickens to a spoonable, glossy pudding consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon and fall in soft mounds when dropped.
- Stir in butter and remove from heat.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve if needed for ultra-smooth texture.
- Transfer to three 8” pans. Chill in fridge until fully set (20–30 min).
- Pipe or spoon neatly into trifle layers as needed.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chill time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Persian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 glass
- Calories: 216 kcal
- Sugar: 18.4 g
- Sodium: 86 mg
- Fat: 7.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.9 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 4.5 g
- Cholesterol: 19 mg
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