Recipes

Melissa Clark’s Sesame Halvah Toffee

At the end of every bagels and lox brunch in my family was a chunk of seven-layer halvah just waiting to be nibbled. Made from finely ground sesame seeds mixed with pleasingly gritty bits of sugar and layered with chocolate, seven-layer halvah is an old-fashioned candy that might be hard to find outside the borough of Brooklyn. This is my homemade version, composed of a sesame shortbread crust topped with bittersweet chocolate and dappled with halvah crumbles.  If you don’t like halvah but still love sesame, the shortbread crust is terrific on its own, especially when sprinkled with crunchy raw sugar and more sesame seeds. But chocolate does make it better.

Time: 30 minutes

June 12th, 2012

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NOTE: The photo above is how the dish turned out in the My Last Supper kitchen, and may look different than as envisioned by the original chef.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, plus additional, optional, for sprinkling
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, optional
  • 3 ounces halvah, crumbled, optional
  • Demerara sugar, for sprinkling, optional

 

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat the oven to 325° F. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt just to combine. Add the butter, tahini, sesame seeds, and vanilla. Pulse together until a crumbly dough forms.
  • Press the dough into an 8- by 8-inch baking dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Use a fork to pierce the top of the dough. (If not using the chocolate, sprinkle the dough generously with the demarara sugar and additional sesame seeds.) Bake until the top is light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
  • If not using chocolate, transfer pan to a wire rack to cool. Otherwise, scatter the chocolate pieces on top of the shortbread. Turn off the heat and return the pan to the oven for 1 to 2 minutes to soften the chocolate. Using an offset spatula, spread the softened chocolate into an even layer over the shortbread. Sprinkle with the crumbled halvah and allow to cool to room temperature in the pan before cutting.
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Mel's comments

I didn’t really think I liked Halvah (I even find the name annoying). That is, until I tasted Melissa’s dessert. Not only was it super easy to make, it was so tasty, it lasted only two days on my kitchen counter before it was completely wolfed down. Next time, I’ll add more chocolate, as I like the contrasting textures between it and Halvah.

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