halvah

It was said that the recipient of the very first batch of these brownies polished them off, alone, in one sitting. There is no proof of this. What we do know is that they are vegan, deeply dark and fudgy. The recipe, which is based on one in Amy Chaplin's cookbook, “At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen,” uses everyday ingredients to reach that fudginess: olive oil (a proven amplifier of chocolate’s complexity) and dates (to round out the bitterness of the cocoa powder, and to act as a binder). But tahini and halvah are the two surprise players here, taking the recipe in a rich direction. The tahini disappears into the brownies, making them shockingly moist, while the halvah lends something familiar and unexpected. Regular almonds are fine; Marconas are better. You could replace the spelt flour with all-purpose for a less savory, more traditional effect.

Vegan Brownies With Tahini and Halvah

pitted dates (2/3 cup packed)

water

extra-virgin olive oil,

spelt flour

unsweetened cocoa powder

baking powder

almond milk or oat milk

maple syrup

coconut palm sugar (see Tip)

120 milliliters tahini

vanilla extract

fine sea salt

vegan bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

white sesame seeds

finely chopped toasted Marcona almonds

flaky sea salt

Place dates in a medium heatproof bowl and pour boiling water on top to cover. Let soak until dates are softened, about 20 minutes, then drain well.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper; brush paper and sides of pan lightly with olive oil and set aside. Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a large bowl; whisk to combine and set aside.

Place drained dates, almond milk, maple syrup, coconut sugar, tahini, vanilla, fine sea salt and 3/4 cup olive oil in a food processor; blend until smooth. Pour into the sifted flour mixture and whisk just until combined. Fold in the chopped chocolate and halvah. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and spread out in an even layer using an offset or rubber spatula. Sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds, then almonds.

Bake until edges pull away from the sides of the dish and a toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and let cool completely. Refrigerate until cold and firm before cutting. Bring to room temperature before eating, or enjoy them cold, straight out of the fridge.

Egg whites give this intensely rich cake its leavening and delicate texture, while a halvah honey sauce elevates it to something entirely new. It is an easy cake to make, and works beautifully even without the sauce, making it perfect for Passover. And it takes almost no time at all.

Flourless Chocolate Cake With Halvah Honey Sauce

Butter and flour (or cocoa powder),

unsalted butter

bittersweet chocolate, chopped

brandy

eggs,

sugar

salt

heavy cream

tahini

honey,

halvah (2 tablespoons, firmly packed)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan, line it with parchment paper, and grease and flour parchment.

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 1/2 cup butter, then add chocolate. Melt, stirring frequently, until just smooth. Remove from heat, whisk in brandy or rum, and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar and the salt, then whisk in cooled chocolate mixture.

In an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and beat to stiff peaks.

Stir a little of the whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently fold all the whites into chocolate. Scrape batter into prepared pan, and bake until cake springs back when gently touched in center and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with some crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for 20 minutes, then turn cake out onto rack, and cool completely. Wrap well, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight to firm texture.

Make the halvah honey sauce: In a saucepan, bring cream to a simmer. Whisk in the tahini, honey and salt. Simmer the mixture, whisking, until it thickens to a custardlike consistency, about 2 minutes. Let mixture cool, then crumble in the halvah. To serve, drizzle sauce generously over the whole cake or individual slices.

Strawberries and cream get a double dose of sesame from tahini and halvah. The tahini adds richness, and the slightly salty halvah has a cookie-dough effect: Everyone will mine for it. Eat it quickly before it melts, ideally with extra halvah on standby.

Strawberry and Sesame Swirl Soft Serve

strawberries (about 10 ounces)

full-fat Greek yogurt

confectioners’ sugar

sesame halvah (about 2 ounces),

Place the strawberries, yogurt, cream, tahini and sugar in a blender or food processor, and blitz, scraping down the sides as needed, until smooth.

Crumble the halvah on top and stir through to distribute. Serve in chilled glasses with more halvah crumbled on top. Eat quickly.

The oats, hazelnuts and tahini (called tahini paste in Britain) make these cookies seem quite healthy, but don’t be fooled. They are as naughty and delicious as any cookie. Toasting the hazelnuts and sesame seeds really helps with the nutty flavor, so don’t skip that bit. These cookies will keep for up to a week in a sealed container.

Oat and Tahini Cookies

granulated sugar

60 grams tahini

all-purpose flour (plain flour)

orange

toasted white sesame seeds

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.

Place butter and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand-held electric mixer). Mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and 1 1/2 tablespoons water and continue mixing until combined, then blend in the tahini. (You may need to stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times to help it combine.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, oats, orange zest, hazelnuts and sesame seeds. Add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer bowl and mix on low speed until well blended.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Form 20 rough balls of dough (they should be about 1 1/2 to 2 inches/4 to 5 centimeters wide) and arrange on the pans, spaced about 1 1/2 inches/4 centimeters apart.

Bake for 8 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, and then remove from the oven while the cookies are not quite cooked. Place a piece of halvah in the middle of each cookie and return to the oven for another 5 minutes, or until cookies are golden-brown around the edges and the halvah has started to melt. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl and place over a pot of simmering water, taking care that the base of the bowl is not touching the water. Cook the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Transfer the cookies back to one of the baking sheets so they fit snugly together. Using a teaspoon, drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies to create thin stripes (or zigzags) all in the same direction. Don’t worry about being exact with this as the cookies should look rustic. Set aside for the chocolate to harden, then serve.

This Middle Eastern halva recipe is nutty and sweet. It&#39;s made with sugar syrup, velvety tahini, spicy cardamom, and chopped pistachios.

Middle Eastern Halva Recipe

cardamom

vanilla ((See Note 1))

pistachios (chopped)

Vanilla

Coat a loaf pan with a nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper with a little overhang for easier lifting. Set aside.

In a heat-proof bowl, combine the tahini and vanilla. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over low heat, bring the sugar, cardamom and water to a simmer. Cook until sugar is completely dissolved, stir using wooden spoon, about 5 minutes.

Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil. Continue to cook until the mixture reaches 250°F on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat, and slowly pour syrup into the bowl of tahini, stirring vigorously with spatula or a wooden spoon to thoroughly incorporate. Add pistachios, and stir to combine. Halva will turn glossy and thick.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top (See Note 2). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set (24 hours). Slice halva while cold, but serve at room temperature.

I met a friend who is Egyptian and started cooking meals and desserts, learning on Pinterest how to make things that were authentic to his culture. I also make Italian biscotti as a hobby and now I have a cottage B license to sell within my County in California... the first time I made halva the sugar water started crystallizing and the halva got really rock hard, so my friend recommended I put one tablespoon of lime juice in the water before it boiled so that it would keep the sugar from crystallizing... that definitely helped, and I love it, so thank you for your wonderful video!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/3bV2gVb1.mp4

This Middle Eastern halva recipe is nutty and sweet. It's made with sugar syrup, velvety tahini, spicy cardamom, and chopped pistachios.

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Middle Eastern Halva Recipe

Top 5 halvah recipes from across the web

The most viewed halvah recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Vegan Brownies With Tahini and Halv...

Flourless Chocolate Cake With Halva...

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Middle Eastern Halva Recipe

The most viewed halvah recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine