Brownies with halva and tahini - the chocolate classic with a difference!

We can all agree that chocolate in brownie form is irresistibly good. Even if the classic chocolate brownies always deliver, you might want to try something new. These Arabian-inspired Tahini Halva Brownies are at least as good as the classic version! In addition to the chocolate, sesame paste and the Arabian sweet treat halva find their way into the dough. In this blog post, you'll learn how to make these wonderfully gooey, slightly different brownies!

This recipe may contain some unknown ingredients. Our FAQs at the end of the article may already answer possible questions about the recipe. :)

Chocolate brownies with tahini and halva

For about 16 brownies you need the following ingredients :

• 250g unsalted butter, cut into 2cm cubes (plus extra for greasing the dish)
• 250 g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa content), broken into 3-4 cm pieces
• 4 large eggs
• 280 grams of sugar
• 120 grams of flour
• 30 g alkalized cocoa powder
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 200 g halva, broken into 2 cm pieces
• 80 g tahini

What's next?

1. First of all, preheat the oven to 200 °C top/bottom heat, 180 °C fan or gas mark 6. Then grease a 23 cm square or 30x20 cm rectangular mold and dust it with flour so that the brownies don't stick to the shape.
2. Prepare a water bath with the butter and chocolate in a bowl. Melt the two ingredients over low heat, then remove the bowl from the water bath. Stir the melted mass until well combined, then allow to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile you can prepare the rest of the dough. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the sugar and mix with a hand mixer until the mixture is light yellow and creamy and the sugar has dissolved. Then add the cooled chocolate-butter mixture and fold in with a spatula.
3. Next, sift the flour into another bowl along with the cocoa powder and salt and mix together. Add it carefully to the chocolate-butter mixture and fold it in. Finally, you carefully mix in the halva pieces, this is best done again with a spatula. The finished dough can now be put into the mold. Then smooth the surface with a spoon or scraper. Now the tahini comes into play (or in the form höhö): Spread it in small blobs of about a teaspoon over about 12 evenly distributed points and then pull a skewer through the brownie batter to give it a nice chocolate-marble effect receives.
4. Now put the mold in the oven and bake for about 23 minutes. The brownies are done when the center is still slightly wobbly and a little runny. To achieve this, the baking time can vary between 20 and 25 minutes. Don't be unsettled if the chocolate brownies still seem a bit raw to you, because as soon as they cool down, their consistency will firm up again. Let the brownies cool for about 30 minutes before slicing them into pieces.

Of course, the brownies taste best fresh and slightly warm. This delicacy will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days. Frozen even a month.

The recipe posted here is inspired by the recipe by celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi and confectionery expert Helen Goh.

Tahini Halva Chocolate Brownies FAQs

In order to forestall any ambiguities, you will find possible answers to our chocolate brownie recipe here:

What is halva and where can I buy it?
Tahini, the delicious sesame paste, is already known to many. Halva, another Arabic specialty, is something that probably very few people know about. Halva is a musty confectionery specialty made from oilseeds, honey and sugar. Originally it comes from India, Iran, Pakistan and Central Asia. Today it is mainly used in Arabic cuisine.
This sweet ingredient for our special chocolate brownies is most likely to be found in Arabic delicatessens. We recommend that you also buy the tahini there.

What is Alkalized Cocoa Powder?
You may have stumbled upon the "alkalinized cocoa powder" while reading the ingredients list. Alkalized cocoa powder goes through an additional step in production, alkalization. It is darker, milder in taste and more easily soluble. If you wanted to learn more about it, check out our blog post on the different cocoa varieties .

Can I also bake the brownies vegan?
In any case. Basically, all you have to do is swap out the butter and eggs, because most dark chocolate is already vegan – not always, so be sure to check the ingredients beforehand. For the butter we recommend you to buy a high-quality margarine.
Eggs can easily be replaced with applesauce or very ripe bananas. Of course, both give the brownies a slightly different taste, which many may not like. An alternative can be the somewhat tasteless chia seeds, but you have to let them swell beforehand.
Basically, 1 egg can go through

• 1 half mashed banana
• two to three tablespoons of applesauce
• a tablespoon of chia seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons of water and steeped for about 10 minutes

substitute.

Photo by Michelle Tsang on Unsplash