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
- 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
- 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
- Cook the sugar & water over low heat in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves… about 4 minutes. Use a heatproof spatula to stir this
- Put the candy thermometer onto the saucepan
- Increase the heat to medium-high & cook this sugar/water until it reaches 250 degrees.. can take approx 7-10 minutes
- 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
- When the sugar mixture reaches the desired temperature, remove from heat & stream it into the tahini mixture. Mix constantly with the spatula
- 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..
- Put this mixture into the prepared loaf pan
- 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
- 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
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper & put a wire rack on it
- Turn the halva out onto the rack & peel the parchment paper off of it
- Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the halva
- 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!
- 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!















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