Brown Butter Halva Brownies

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY RENÉE KOHLMAN

One of my favourite food memories goes way, way back to eating halva for the first time. As a farm kid in Saskatchewan in the late 1970s, this may seem like an oddity, but my mom always had some on hand for the holidays. She says that local grocery stores would order in tins of halva just in time for Christmas, and she too remembers eating this Middle Eastern candy at her grandmother’s house. I would always get excited when mom brought out the tin of halva, then proceeded to cut it into thick slices, which I would then slide into my mouth and savour every last morsel of sesame seed goodness.

If you’ve never tried halva, you’re in for a treat. Halva (also spelled halawa and halvah) is a Middle Eastern candy that is made by mixing sesame seed paste with a hot sugar syrup. It has a somewhat nutty taste, with a texture that is both creamy and crumbly. When you eat it, pieces tend to come off in shards. Supple and smooth, halva slowly dissolves on the tongue, and when it’s gone, you reach for another slice, and then another. Halva’s flavour can change dramatically from regional variations and culinary additions. Coffee, dark chocolate, sea salt, pistachio are all popular, but plain vanilla is also delicious as the sesame flavour really shines through.

Now that I’ve got you interested, you’re probably wondering where to find halva, and the good news is that most large grocery stores will carry it, often in the International Foods aisle. Good delicatessens and cheese shops also have it in stock, and then of course it can always be ordered online.

Once you have halva in your hot little hands, you can eat it as is, or you can bake with it, like I do. Its nutty, creamy nature is a natural fit for gooey chocolate brownies. It’s a match made in heaven, really. Firstly, I make my favourite brownie recipe, with browned butter and plenty of rich chocolate. Then I melt down some halva with a touch of water, until it’s smooth and creamy. This mixture is swirled into the brownie batter and baked until gooey perfection. The halva adds another layer of flavour to the browned butter and chocolate, and all in all, this is one heck of a brownie. The hard part is waiting for the pan to cool down before you cut off a piece, but the wait is always worth it.

Brown Butter Halva Brownies

Makes 16 squares

½ cup salted butter, plus more for greasing the pan

1¼ cups dark chocolate, chopped into 1 cm pieces

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract

¾ cup all-purpose flour

240 g halva (Renée used vanilla flavour)

2 Tbs (30 mL) water

1. Place the rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 350° F. Lightly butter a 20 cm square baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two facing sides. Butter the parchment paper as well.

2. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. The butter will froth and bubble and then turn golden.

(It’s okay to give it a bit of a stir.) When it starts to brown and smell nutty, remove it from the heat and stir in the chocolate and both sugars until smooth.

3. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Using a wooden spoon, beat in the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. The batter will be shiny.

4. Stir in the cocoa powder, salt and vanilla. Mix in the flour just until combined.

5. In a small saucepan, combine the halva and water. Mix on low heat until the mixture is smooth and the halva is melted. I like to use a small whisk for this. The melted halva should be runny and yet the consistency should be similar to that of the brownie batter.

6. Scrape the brownie batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Spoon the melted halva mixture on top of the brownie mixture. Use a sharp knife to make swirls of the two mixtures. You don’t want to swirl too much. Some distinction is a good thing! has just been published.

7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 35-40 minutes. Every oven is different and it’s better to underbake the brownies than overbake them, so I check them at 35 minutes, then every few minutes after that.

8. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into 16 squares. Store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.