Chocolate Tahini Halva Brownies

Name: Chocolate Tahini Halva Brownies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Ingredients: 230 gm dark chocolate; 230 gm salted butter; 1 tsp espresso powder; 4 eggs; 215 gm brown sugar; 198 gm castor sugar; 1 tsp vanilla; 2 tbsp cocoa powder; 130 gm flour; 1 tbsp cornflour; 1/2 tsp salt; 250 gm halva; 50 gm sliced almonds; 50 gm tahini

These brownies are sweet, salty, fudgy, crunchy and all delicious. The perfect baking recipe for Eid, with chunks of halva, almonds and tahini swirled through, they make for a chocolate lovers dream this season.

If you haven’t met my Crackle Top Brownies, let me reintroduce you to them. They have been in the top 5 chocolate brownie recipes on google for over 2 years and I posted the recipe little over 2 years ago. This recipe is an upgrade from that. The addition of halva, tahini and almonds make it very seasonally delicious for Eid round the corner. But honestly, bake these for any celebration or just because its a Wednesday afternoon and you need a mid week sweet treat.

Halva/Halwa/Halvah etc have a few connotations to it. It is basically a confectionary from Middle East and Asia that is a semi solid fudge consisting of nuts and seeds. These brownies are a great make ahead dessert that can be sliced when ready to serve at the dinning table. They are also perfect as a gift for Eid for your family and friends. Further more they travel well too. There are a few pressure points to make this recipe and I will talk you through all of them, also keep reading to know more about the substitutes you can add to make these brownies suitable to your diet.

What ingredients do you need to make these Chocolate Tahini Halva Brownies?

Eggs –

This recipe uses whole eggs and its the eggs that give it that crunchy top. It not only binds the batter but also aids in a delicious texture all through the brownie. The best substitute to make these eggless is using flaxseed eggs instead. 1 flaxseed egg is 1 tbsp flaxseed powder mixed with 2 tbsp water until gloopy. Follow the rest of the recipe as mentioned.

Sugar –

The recipe calls for white and brown sugar. They both play an important part in this recipe. The brown sugar helps with the fudge texture while the white sugar helps create that crunch and crust once baked.

Butter –

The butter is melted in this recipe and honestly you can even brown the butter here. Any butter works, I have made them with a vegan butter spread which works well too.

Dark chocolate –

I love dark chocolate and this recipe uses 80% dark chocolate. You can use semi sweet chocolate but I would recommend using 70% cocoa and above. The bitterness in the chocolate is actually a good balance. If you insist on milk chocolate use a combination of both.

Flour –

I have used all purpose flour and corn flour here. You can use cake flour to make this recipe or self raising flour as well. To make these gluten free use all purpose gluten free flour mix, cup for cup measure. You wouldn’t tell the difference.

Cocoa powder –

This adds flavor, a little goes a long way. These brownies are indulgent and deep in chocolate flavor which comes from the dark chocolate and the cocoa powder. Hence do not skip it.

Halva –

You can find halva in middle eastern supermarkets or most Indian supermarkets too. They come in containers ranging from 250gm up to 1kg. It can be purchased online too. There are halva flavors too, I have used the basic halwa you can find. It is crumbly, salty, sweet and delicious.

Tahini –

A smooth paste made of sesame seeds which you can find it in most supermarkets and easily available online as well. This is not used in the batter but is swirled on top of the brownie once it is baked. I would recommend mixing the tahini thoroughly before swirling over the brownie to ensure the oil and liquid is well combined.

Almonds –

I love the taste of almond in this recipe combination but you can use hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts or even walnuts. The texture is delicious in the brownie once baked.

What equipment do you need to make these Chocolate Tahini Halva Brownies?

A large mixing bowl, electric beater to beat the eggs and sugar until pale and creamy. You can use a whisk but it will take longer. Melted the butter and chocolate in a bowl in the microwave. A sifters to lift the dry ingredients ensuring there are no lumps. I used a spatula to fold the rest of the ingredients into the batter. This brownie is baked in a baking paper lined tin that is 9×11 inches. Once it is baked and cooled, use a sharp knife to slice it into bars.

How to make these Chocolate Tahini Halva Brownies?

Preheat the oven to 180℃. Line a 9×11 inch tray with baking paper and set aside. Melt the butter, dark chocolate in a bowl in the microwave with 20 second intervals. Stirring between each interval. Once melted and smooth, add the espresso powder into the mixture, stir and set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl add the eggs, sugars and vanilla, using an electric whisk beat the mixture until it has doubled in volume, creamy, pale and fluffy. We want to beat this until it has reached ribbon consistency (when you lift the beater out of the bowl the batter should fall on itself in a ribbon like pattern). Add the melted butter and dark chocolate mixture, beat until combined and smooth. Sift over the flour, cornflour, cocoa powder, salt and fold with a spatula. Once combined, add the sliced almonds, crumble the halva and fold together. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and drizzle over the tahini. Using knife, swirl the batter with the tahini and bake for 32-35 mins until the top is set and a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out with sticky, moist, wet crumbs. Let this cool for a couple of hours. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Pro tips on making these Chocolate Tahini Halva Brownies:

Beat the eggs –

Make sure to take your time to beat the eggs well. This is what gives the brownie that crackle top and shiny crust. Take your time in doing this. You can use a stand mixer as well to do this.

Sift dry ingredients –

If you have any lumps in the dry ingredients you will land up over working the batter to get rid of them, hence use a sifter to ensure there are no lumps in the batter.

Fold gently –

Once you’ve added the dry ingredients, make sure to gently fold them into the egg mixture using the cutting and folding method. If you over work the batter at this stage it will loose all that air from the eggs and make the brownies dense not to mention loose that crackle top texture.

Tahini swirl –

Do not get over excited and swirl the tahini too much as it will merge with the brownie batter and you won’t be able to see it once it has baked. Swirl it gently and just a little.

Baking –

It is always better to under bake the brownies as opposed to over baking them. Hence at the 30 min mark poke the brownies with a tooth pick, it should have sticky, wet, moist, jammy crumbs. A little batter is also fine. However it should not have raw batter dripping off the tooth pick that means it hasn’t baked at all (which means your oven waste preheat heated).

Cooling –

One of the biggest mistakes you will make with these brownies is to cut into them immediately and as tempting as that might be with the smell, let it cool for a couple of hours, you can speed up this process and place it in the fridge to cool down faster. Slice once cooled completely for a clean edge.

Storing these Chocolate Tahini Halva Brownies?

The leftovers can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for a couple of days. In the fridge it will keep for 10 days and you can freeze them for upto 1 month in zip log bags. Once they are ready to eat, warm them in the microwave for a few seconds and serve.

Looking for more Eid Desserts?

Now that we have covered how to make this Chocolate Tahini Halva Brownie, you can have a look at the ninja bake along video on my instagram but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more baking recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.