Israeli Halva is a traditional Israeli recipe for a sweetmeat made from hot honey and tahini blended together with slivered almonds that's chilled to fully set. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Israeli version of: Israeli Halva.
(click this button to prevent the screen from sleeping so Cook Mode is 'ON')
The flaky, dense, tahini-based sweetmeat as known to American and Israeli Jews is only one of hundreds of different types of halva/halvah eaten across the globe.
Ingredients:
500ml honey
375ml tahini, well stirred to combine
up to 200g toasted slivered almonds or other nuts (optional)
Method:
Place the honey in a pan, set over medium heat and cook until it reaches the 'soft ball stage' (116°C/240°F as measured on a sugar thermometer). To confirm that you are at the “soft ball” stage, drop a bit of the honey into a cup of cold water. It should form a sticky and soft ball that flattens when removed from the water.
Have the tahini ready to heat in a separate small pan, and once the honey is at the appropriate temperature, take it off the heat and set aside. Now heat the tahini to 50˚C.
Add the warmed tahini to the honey and mix with a wooden spoon to combine. At first it will look separated but after a few minutes, the mixture will come together smoothly. Now fold in the nuts, if using.
Continue to mix until the mixture starts to stiffen, for a good 6–8 minutes. Pour mixture into a well-greased loaf pan, or into a greased cake pan with a removable bottom.
Set aside to cool to room temperature then cover tightly with clingfilm. Pop in your refrigerator and chill for up to 36 hours. This will allow the sugar crystals to develop, which will give the halvah its distinctive texture.
To serve, invert the halva onto a chopping board and remove from the pan. Cut into pieces with a sharp knife or pizza cutter.
