The very nice folks at at Seed + Mill in NYC offered me a generous discount that I used to re-stock my supply of tahini and halva. Having several pounds of their amazing halva on hand available for baking projects (as opposed to the petite slices of flavored halva that my husband and I keep in the fridge to indulge in as an after-dinner treat, one ounce at a time) has been such a luxury. The first recipe I ever made calling for halva was the Tahini and Halva Brownies from Sweet by Helen Goh and Yotam Ottolenghi. I decided to go back to an Ottolenghi recipe from Plenty More for his Walnut and Halvah Cake (I never know whether to spell "halva" with one "h" or two, but Ottolenghi went from "halvah" in Plenty More to "halva" in Sweet a few years later).
This cake is a rich batter baked in a loaf pan, with a ribbon of browned butter, walnuts, cinnamon, and halva in the middle, and topped with more sweetened, spiced, buttered nuts. It comes together quickly. To make the batter, you cream together softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs; and alternately add in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) and sour cream. You spread half of the batter into a lined loaf pan; sprinkle on a mixed of cooled browned butter, cinnamon, and walnuts; and add a generous amount of crumbled halva. Then you add the remaining cake batter and top the loaf with a mixture of browned butter, cinnamon, walnuts, and dark brown sugar.
Even just the mixture of browned butter, cinnamon, and walnuts made my kitchen smell heavenly. This cake itself is rich and moist and full of flavor, and the generous amount of halva, nuts, and cinnamon put it over the top. It is indulgent and so dang good. It's definitely worth the investment in some premium halva!
Recipe: "Walnut and Halvah Cake" from Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi, recipe available here.
Previous Post: "Creamy and Dreamy: Tahini and Halva Brownies," September 9, 2019.
This cake is a rich batter baked in a loaf pan, with a ribbon of browned butter, walnuts, cinnamon, and halva in the middle, and topped with more sweetened, spiced, buttered nuts. It comes together quickly. To make the batter, you cream together softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs; and alternately add in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) and sour cream. You spread half of the batter into a lined loaf pan; sprinkle on a mixed of cooled browned butter, cinnamon, and walnuts; and add a generous amount of crumbled halva. Then you add the remaining cake batter and top the loaf with a mixture of browned butter, cinnamon, walnuts, and dark brown sugar.
Recipe: "Walnut and Halvah Cake" from Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi, recipe available here.
Previous Post: "Creamy and Dreamy: Tahini and Halva Brownies," September 9, 2019.
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