Best Israeli Halva Recipes

ISRAELI HALVA

Steps:

• Heat honey on medium heat until your candy or instant-read thermometer reads 240˚ F, or indicates the "soft ball" stage of candy making. To confirm that you are at the "soft ball" stage, drop a bit of the honey into a cup of cold water. It should form a sticky and soft ball that flattens when removed from the water. Have the tahini ready to heat in a separate small pot, and once the honey is at the appropriate temperature, set the honey aside and heat tahini to 120˚ F. Add the warmed tahini to the honey and mix with a wooden spoon to combine. At first it will look separated but after a few minutes, the mixture will come together smoothly. Add the nuts, if using. Continue to mix until the mixture starts to stiffen, for a good 6-8 minutes. Pour mixture into a well-greased loaf pan, or into a greased cake pan with a removable bottom. Let cool to room temperature and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Leave in the refrigerator for up to 36 hours. This will allow the sugar crystals to form, which will give the halvah its distinctive texture. Invert to remove from pan and cut into pieces with a sharp knife. Will keep for months in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in plastic--if you don't eat it all first! Author: Elisheva Margulies

HALVAH

Steps:

• Line an 8- x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
• Combine sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest with 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Allow mixture to simmer into a syrup, without stirring, until temperature registers 245 degrees on candy thermometer.
• While syrup is cooking, place tahini and salt in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle. Beat on medium speed. Carefully stream syrup into tahini with mixer running. Mix until syrup is incorporated and mixture begins to pull away from sides of bowl, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Be careful not to overmix. The halvah texture should be fudgelike, not sandy.
• Working quickly with a heatproof spatula, transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Place another piece of parchment on top and use your hands on top of the parchment to smooth out halvah. Cool completely to room temperature and cut into squares. Store at room temperature, well wrapped in plastic, for a week.

ISRAELI HALVA

Steps:

• Prepare a square 8x8" or 9x9" baking pan by lining the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Spray with canola oil.
• Mix the Tahini thoroughly before measuring. It separates easily and the thicker part at the bottom needs to be mixed in before pouring to measure.
• Bring 1 c of water to a boil.
• At the same time, start the Tahini on low in a sauce pan. Stir in the vanilla. Continue to heat, while occasionally stirring, until it reaches about 50°C (120°F). Do not heat it up too quickly or go over temp, because it will scorch. Remove from heat when it reaches temperature.
• Once the water is boiling, pour it over the sugar in a larger pan and stir until dissolved.
• Over high heat, bring the sugar water to a boil until it reaches 121°C (not over 250°F). Use a candy thermometer.
• As you're waiting for the sugar water to get to temp, the tahini should reach the proper temperature.
• Pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer with the mixing paddle attached.
• When the sugar water reaches the proper temp, immediately turn the heat off, and start the stand mixer on low while pouring in the sugar water until combined. Be careful it is scorching hot!
• Bump the speed up to 3 and watch carefully as it mixes. It won't take longer than about 30 seconds to get to the proper consistency. When you see the mixture starting to pull away from the side of the bowl, stop mixing immediately, and pour the mixture into your prepared pan.
• It will begin to stiffen as you are pouring it into the pan, so be quick about scraping the remains out of the bowl. With a flat scraper or back of a wide wooden spoon, press the mixture into a level layer.
• Let cool for about a half an hour at room temp, then remove solidified piece from pan and cut into 36 pieces (6 rows and 6 columns).
• Wrap the Halva up in an airtight container or plastic wrap, and keep in fridge. It will last for months as long as it's sealed, but I'm sure it will be long gone by then. Enjoy!