5 Ingredients or Fewer

Baked Halva

by:
March 18, 2016
4.5
2 Ratings
Baked Halva
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

The last time I was in Istanbul, my friend took us to this amazing restaurant on the Asian side of the city. We ate mezzes and drank raki, and at the end of the meal we split a huge dish of baked halva. This is my very un-authentic yet delicious version of baked halva. It is also simply made vegan by using plant milk instead of the standard variety. —jessicamclement

Test Kitchen Notes

This smooth and creamy pudding-like dessert was like having the best hummus of your life served as a dessert, if that makes sense. It's luscious and easy to make, although quite rich—the small ramekin I used could easily have been enough for two or even more people to share. I ate it plain with a spoon, but later saw iterations of people eating it spread on toast, or with Nutella, which sounds divine. —Omeletta

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup tahini
  • 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons milk (can substitute a plant version)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pinch salt
  • Crushed nuts or seeds (optional, for the topping)
Directions
  1. Preheat your oven to 200° C (~400° F) and set aside 2 ramekins.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the tahini, maple syrup, milk, olive oil, and salt until creamy and smooth.
  3. Evenly distribute the tahini mixture into the ramekins.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes or until the top is a light brown.
  5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle crushed nuts on top.
  6. Allow to cool for a few minutes, but serve hot!
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11 Reviews

FrugalCat
FrugalCat May 29, 2018
Pistachios or walnuts on top.
 
Sheri S.
Sheri S. September 6, 2017
What size ramekins do you use?
 
jessicamclement
jessicamclement September 6, 2017
I believe mine are 3.5 inches (9 cm).
 
Sue
Sue March 10, 2017
Have now made this a number of times and it's great. Variations have included using all honey, a mix of honey and date syrup, adding orange blossom water, adding cinnamon. All have been great.
 
jessicamclement
jessicamclement March 10, 2017
I'm glad to hear this ! I need to try your mixture of honey and date syrup... it sounds amazing.
 
Hummusit
Hummusit April 11, 2016
Not sure what the baking adds here, this is not even technically halva. But I agree that sweetened tahini is a treat, although I'm more familiar with the version sweetened with date syrup.
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. March 25, 2016
yay jessica! congrats on this next step!
 
jessicamclement
jessicamclement March 29, 2016
yay !! thank you :)
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. March 19, 2016
this is fascinating! what is the baked texture like? did you consider adding other elements, like : flour, eggs, butter, cream......?
 
jessicamclement
jessicamclement March 21, 2016
hi ! it's very creamy... definitely not floury at all. when i eat this, i envision a softer and denser version of crème brûlée. it isn't as "elegant" as a crème bruûlée, but it has that same creamy satisfying bite. the tahini texture stays fairly strong, so that's why i say it's a bit dense. i love this dish!
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. March 21, 2016
oh men, iam so excited! you are BRIlliant!!