I had never baked brownies quite like these before. A classic, deeply indulgent brownie with the addition of halva and tahini (sesame paste). The flavour is absolutely wonderful — the little pieces of halva add sweetness to the rich, slightly savoury brownie, making it almost impossible to resist a second piece. Thank goodness it’s carnival season; you do not need doughnuts to enjoy a truly decadent weekend ;). Invite friends over, but make sure to save a few brownie squares just for yourself…
Ingredients for the tahini and halva brownies:
- 250 g butter
- 250 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped
- 4 large eggs
- 250 g caster sugar
- 120 g plain flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- a pinch of salt
- 200 g halva, cut into 1.5–2 cm pieces
- 80 g tahini paste
All ingredients should be at room temperature (except the butter).
Melt the butter in a saucepan, then remove from the heat. Add the chopped dark chocolate to the hot butter and leave for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth and glossy, then leave to cool slightly.
Place the eggs and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until pale and fluffy (I try not to overwhip the mixture completely, as brownies should remain dense rather than too airy). Add the cooled or slightly warm chocolate mixture and stir gently with a whisk. Sift in the plain flour, cocoa powder and salt, then mix only until combined. Add the pieces of halva and fold through gently.
Pour the brownie batter into a 20 x 30 cm baking tin (I used a slightly smaller tin, which made the brownies taller as seen in the photos), greased with butter and lined with baking parchment. Smooth the surface. Spoon the tahini over the brownie batter in 12 different spots. Using the tip of a teaspoon, lightly swirl the tahini into the top layer of the batter to create a marbled effect.
Bake at 180°C for about 30–35 minutes. A skewer inserted into the centre may still come out moist, but it should not have raw batter on it. Note: overbaked brownies become dry. Brownies continue to “bake” slightly after being removed from the oven as the chocolate sets. Baking times may vary depending on your oven, and even a few minutes can make a big difference here — so keep a close eye on them. Remove the tahini and halva brownies from the oven, leave to cool completely, then cut into 16 squares.
Enjoy!
Recipe source — Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh.
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