Halva and tahini are enjoying their day in the limelight, and with good reason: the creamy, nutty goodness of this sesame-based spread is super tasty in savory and sweet recipes. Here, tahini and halva marry with dark chocolate for a tasty brownie that is out of this world. This is not a fudgy brownie as the beaten egg mixture adds a good bit of loft to the bar, but this allows a good amount of elbow room for all that sesame goodness to enjoy.
Not too sweet, but an excellent finish to any meal, this bar is a good one to add to your repertoire.
Tahini and Halva Brownies
Yield: 16 bars
Ingredients
1 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch, plus extra for greasing
9 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into 1 1/2-inch pieces
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup plus 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
7 oz halva, broken into 3/4-inch pieces (use plain halva or any with nuts)
⅓ cup tahini paste, well stirred
flaky salt, optional
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease and 8 x 8 pan (or line with line parchment paper), then set aside.
Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the base of the bowl is not touching the water. Leave for about 2 minutes to melt, then remove the bowl from the heat. You can also melt the chocolate and butter in a heat-proof measuring cup in the microwave. Just be sure to watch and heat in 30 second bursts. Stir until you have a thick shiny sauce and set aside to come to room temperature.
Place the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until pale and creamy and a trail is left behind when you move the whisk; this will take about 3 minutes with an electric mixer, longer by hand. Stir in cocoa powder and salt. Add the chocolate and fold through gently with a spatula—don’t overwork the mixture here.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, then gently fold into the chocolate mixture. Finally, add the pieces of halva, gently fold through the mix, then pour or scrape the mixture into the lined baking pan, using a small spatula to even it out. Dollop small spoonfuls of the tahini paste into the mix in about 12 different places, then use a skewer to swirl them through to create a marbled effect, taking the marbling right to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with flaky salt, if using.
Bake for about 23 to 25 minutes, until the middle has a slight wobble and it is gooey inside. They may seem a little undercooked at first, but they firm up once they start to cool down. If you want to serve them warmish (and gooey), set aside for just 30 minutes before cutting into 16 pieces. Otherwise, set aside for longer to cool to room temperature.
Enjoy!