I have many business ideas (just ask my parents), and one of them is to create a brand of tahini, known for its different flavors. I just never understood why almond butter and peanut butter had all the cool flavors but tahini couldn’t. I would create savory tahini flavors like ginger-curry tahini, za’atar tahini, and spicy harissa tahini. And, of course, sweet flavors like honey-cinnamon tahini and – you guessed it – dark chocolate + hazelnut tahini. If you like my business idea, want to be my co-founder, or want to back me financially, let me know.

But for now, I’ve put my tahini-company dreams on hold and instead created a dark chocolate + hazelnut halva to the fill the void. Because you don’t heat the sugar syrup too high, the sugar doesn’t harden as much once mixed with the tahini, which results in a fudgier texture than traditional halvas (which I find too dry and crumbly). It makes a great snack, dessert, and gift, if you’re willing to give some up. But I won’t judge if you don’t.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups tahini

3/4 cups hazelnuts, roasted & chopped

3/4 cup dark chocolate, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp. flaky sea salt

TOOLS

Candy thermometer

DIRECTIONS

Line a medium loaf pan with parchment paper, opposite from the length of the pan, so the parchment hangs over the sides (this will help you easily pull the halva out from the pan!) Spray entire pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Pour tahini, melted chocolate, 1/2 cup hazelnuts and 1 tsp. sea salt in a heat-proof bowl. Mix together until thoroughly incorporated.

Place sugar and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan over med-high heat. Bring to a boil; you want the sugar to completely dissolve, until the water is clear. Place thermometer in saucepan, and keep saucepan on heat until temperature reaches 240°F. Note: if you do not have a thermometer, you can tell when your syrup is done when the bubbles in the boil are uniform in size & rise and disappear at the same speed.

Working quickly, remove syrup from heat and stream slowly into chocolate-tahini mixture, folding the syrup into the tahini constantly as you stream using a rubber spatula. Continue to mix tahini mixture until it begins to thicken & pull away from the sides of the bowl. The more you mix, the more air enters the mixture, and the crumbly your halva will be – so don’t over-mix if you like a fudgier texture!

Pour tahini mixture into loaf pan. Top with remaining hazelnuts and 1 tsp. sea salt. Bang on the counter a few times to get all the air out.

Store in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. Slice up the next day into any shape you want!

store: in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 months, or in the freezer for up to 1 year. Pro-tip: wrapping the halva with parchment paper as well will help it stay fresher, longer.

diet: vegan*, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free (*if using vegan chocolate)

eat it with: by itself! sprinkled onto vanilla ice cream! baked into cookies!