Home-made Halva!

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by Marilyn Dishes

We love Halva & I never really thought that it could be made at home!Then I saw a recipe for it on Bon Appetit.. so I tried it!

Turns out it was pretty simple to make. I did not get the right consistency … or at least not the consistency the we are used to..but the flavour is great!

There is a restaurant in Toronto called Parallel at 217 Geary Avenue. The food there is delicious & they make their own Tahini Butters & Halva. They have several different flavours of Halva & the ones I have tasted are so good.

Because of this restaurant & the recipe on Bon Appetit, I was going to make halva!

You do need a candy thermometer to make this but they are easy to find! Then if you have one you can make caramels & fudge & more! YUM

This halva is coated with dark chocolate… & the one in the recipe has edible flowers on top… I don’t really like eating flowers…so I did not put any on!

I think if you like halva or like making interesting things in the kitchen you should give this a try!!

Here is the recipe… & some pictures…

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups tahini

4 tbsp sesame seeds *** I used only white sesame seeds, the recipe suggests using black sesame seeds as well…so if you have them go for it! These are divided & used 2 tbsp at a time

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

flaky sea salt *** I used Maldon sea salt flakes

4 oz dark chocolate or you can use bittersweet if you want *** I don’t really like bittersweet chocolate…

Method

You need a loaf pan & a candy thermometer & a heat-proof spatula & a pastry brush

Spray the loaf pan with a non-stick cooking spray. Line the loaf pan with parchment paper leaving some hanging over the sides so you can lift the halva out of the pan easily!

For the Halva

  1. Mix the tahini, 2 TBSP of sesame seeds & the salt together in a bowl that can get warm ( you will pour the hot sugar syrup into this mixture) & set aside
  2. Before you start cooking the sugar, get a pastry brush ready & a cup of water…you will be brushing the sides of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush
  3. Cook the sugar & water over low heat in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves… about 4 minutes. Use a heatproof spatula to stir this
  4. Put the candy thermometer onto the saucepan
  5. Increase the heat to medium-high & cook this sugar/water until it reaches 250 degrees.. can take approx 7-10 minutes
  6. This is when you will dip your pastry brush into water & brush the sides of the saucepan to avoid crystals from forming. I use an oveglove while I am doing this since it can get hot reaching over the bubbling sugar
  7. When the sugar mixture reaches the desired temperature, remove from heat & stream it into the tahini mixture. Mix constantly with the spatula
  8. Mix until the halva mixture comes together & becomes smooth & pulls away from the sides of the bowl…won’t take long. Try not to over-mix it , that is what I think I did… because it is crumbly..
  9. Put this mixture into the prepared loaf pan
  10. Let cool… I put the pan onto a wire rack so the bottom would cool

For the Chocolate Do this when the Halva is cool

  1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler… if you don’t have a double boiler… use a heatproof bowl that will fit over your saucepan without touching the water… so, put some water into a saucepan, bring it to a simmer, put the chocolate into the bowl, place over the water & melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally so it does not burn or stick

Putting it Together

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper & put a wire rack on it
  2. Turn the halva out onto the rack & peel the parchment paper off of it
  3. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the halva
  4. Sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds & flaked salt,,, I put the sesame seeds on & then the salt which didn’t really work because the salt did not stick to the sesame seeds..so the recipe says to put the salt on then the seeds ..which I had not paid attention to… next time I am going to put less sesame seed on & then the salt but making sure the salt sticks to some exposed chocolate I think…. or mix the salt & the sesame seeds together then sprinkle on the chocolate!
  5. Let this sit until the chocolate hardens …about 30 minutes the recipe says

Bon Appetit says this can be made 3 days ahead… wrap well in plastic wrap….

Enjoy!

Ingredients
Mix the tahini, sesame seeds salt together & set aside
Cook the sugar & water together until it reaches 250 degrees the additional to the tahini mixture

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Marilyn Dishes

Many people ask me "how did you do that?" "will you show me how?' So I decided to make a blog about what I cook and bake. I am in no way a professional cook, but I love to feed people and try new things as well as making the "old foods" My friends are wonderful cooks, each with their own 'specialty' and i will be having guest cooks here, showcasing their favourite things to cook as well!! I hope you enjoy this blog and maybe decide to make some of these foods yourself! I am always available to answer any questions you might have about anything you see here. Some of my recipes are unique to me but most are not. They are all recipes I have found in a variety of ways, some are old family recipes that date back decades and some are new ones!