I've still got a lot of Seed and Mill tahini and halva on hand. I was going to use some of it to make a batch of Tahini and Halva Brownies from Sweet, because that recipe is incredible. But then I came across a recipe from Claire Ptak for Halva and Spelt Brownies and decided I would give it a try to see how it compares.
This recipe is straightforward, but requires you to dirty a few bowls. You whisk eggs with golden caster sugar (I used Domino granulated golden sugar that I bought on impulse a while ago); stir vanilla and the egg-sugar mixture into a slightly cooled mixture of melted dark chocolate and butter; fold in sifted spelt flour and cocoa powder; and pour the batter into a parchment-lined pan. The recipe calls for an 8-inch by 12-inch pan and I used a 9-inch by 13-inch pan instead. Finally, you drizzle on tahini with some orange zest stirred in, sprinkled on crumbled halva; use a knife to marble the tahini and the brownie batter together; sprinkle on flake salt; and bake.
The recipe calls for 150 grams of tahini, which turned out to be quite a bit. Almost the entire top surface of my brownies ended up covered with tahini, so my efforts to marble the brownie batter with the tahini didn't have any visual payoff; the top was basically a solid layer of tahini (and halva). Also, the distinct chunks of halva on top of the brownies seeemed to just melt and disappear into the tahini during baking.
But these were very good brownies. They were super fudgy, to the point where I thought they benefited from being stored in the refrigerator. While the halva looked like it had all melted away, its distinct grainy texture remained and I liked the bursts of halva flavor (I used marble halva). The most interesting thing about the brownies, however, was the unmistakable orange flavor from the citrus zest. It added unexpected brightness and made these brownies quite memorable.
I do think that these would be better if they had been baked in a 8-inch by 12-inch pan, because they would have been a little taller. One of the things I love about the Helen Goh/Ottolenghi tahini brownies from Sweet is that they are relatively tall, which makes them extra decadent. If I had to pick between the two recipes, I would give the edge to the Sweet brownies, which have an amazing creamy texture and pieces of halva baked inside. But definitely think that this recipe is worth making, especially for the fun addition of orange zest. It's nice to have another tahini-halva brownie option!
Recipe: "Halva and Spelt Brownies" by Claire Ptak.
Previous Post: "Creamy and Dreamy: Tahini and Halva Brownies," September 9, 2019.
This recipe is straightforward, but requires you to dirty a few bowls. You whisk eggs with golden caster sugar (I used Domino granulated golden sugar that I bought on impulse a while ago); stir vanilla and the egg-sugar mixture into a slightly cooled mixture of melted dark chocolate and butter; fold in sifted spelt flour and cocoa powder; and pour the batter into a parchment-lined pan. The recipe calls for an 8-inch by 12-inch pan and I used a 9-inch by 13-inch pan instead. Finally, you drizzle on tahini with some orange zest stirred in, sprinkled on crumbled halva; use a knife to marble the tahini and the brownie batter together; sprinkle on flake salt; and bake.
But these were very good brownies. They were super fudgy, to the point where I thought they benefited from being stored in the refrigerator. While the halva looked like it had all melted away, its distinct grainy texture remained and I liked the bursts of halva flavor (I used marble halva). The most interesting thing about the brownies, however, was the unmistakable orange flavor from the citrus zest. It added unexpected brightness and made these brownies quite memorable.
I do think that these would be better if they had been baked in a 8-inch by 12-inch pan, because they would have been a little taller. One of the things I love about the Helen Goh/Ottolenghi tahini brownies from Sweet is that they are relatively tall, which makes them extra decadent. If I had to pick between the two recipes, I would give the edge to the Sweet brownies, which have an amazing creamy texture and pieces of halva baked inside. But definitely think that this recipe is worth making, especially for the fun addition of orange zest. It's nice to have another tahini-halva brownie option!
Previous Post: "Creamy and Dreamy: Tahini and Halva Brownies," September 9, 2019.
Comments