Today we are making incredible tahini helva at home! Plain, with pistachios or chocolate… I am sure it is going to blow your mind 🤯 But I will go a little further and give you another five-minute Refika recipe which is a melted oven helva with chocolate, fruits and nuts which is so easy to make yet hard to resist!
Check out our Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/Refikadan
JOIN: / @refika
SUBSCRIBE: bit.ly/38QQ03R
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 1 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes + cooling
Plain tahini helva,
200 g granulated sugar (1 cup)
60 ml water (~ 6 tablespoons)
260 g tahini (1 cup), you can make tahini with my recipe • How to Make Tahini At ...
or you can order our tahini on Etsy, www.etsy.com/listing/99643111...
1 pack of vanillin powder (10 g), or ¼ vanilla pod beans or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
For the pistachio helva,
2 handfuls of pistachios, half roughly chopped, half finely chopped
For the chocolate helva,
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
A handful of chocolate, roughly chopped
• First, I need to mention that there is çöven (soaproot, soapwort) in the classical recipe of the tahini helva. It gives the gumminess to it, but it is very hard to control and find, so I discard it to make it possible for everyone to make this beauty. Maybe one day we’ll make it with çöven, for the advanced level😉.
• To make the syrup, mix the sugar and water in a small frying pan. Shake the pan to help sugar dissolve. Put the pan on medium-low heat and whisk before the water boils.
• If water boils before the sugar dissolves, sugar may crystalize when the syrup is cool downed. After the water starts to boil, don’t whisk the syrup anymore. Shake the pan to dissolve the sugar instead and don’t scrape the crystals on the sides of the pan. Total cooking time of the syrup will take 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop the pistachios or chocolate. Line a baking paper in a rectangular (if you have) bowl. Be sure that you are using an enamel or heatproof bowl because the mixture is going to be hot.
• Mix the tahini, vanillin powder, salt and pistachio in a bowl. Spare a handful of pistachio chunks for the top.
• Whisk in the hot syrup to the tahini mixture. You need to be quick at this stage because the mixture will be hardened really fast.
• Transfer the mixture into the bowl lined with the paper and top with the pistachios. Let it cool to room temperature and refrigerate for an hour.
• To make the chocolate helva, mix the tahini, vanillin powder and salt in a bowl.
• Whisk in the hot syrup to the tahini mixture. Pour the half of the mixture in baking paper lined bowl and add the cocoa powder to the rest.
• Give it a good mix and pour in the bowl as well. Mix with the handle of a spoon and top with the chocolate. Let it cool to room temperature and refrigerate for an hour.
• Plain, with pistachios or chocolate… helva is ready to make you climb a tree😂.
Refika’s Oven Melted Helva
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 2 minutes
Baking time:10-12 minutes
150 g helva, roughly chopped, chocolate or pistachio would both do great
100 g chocolate, roughly chopped
Fruit of the season, sliced, 1 banana, 4-5 strawberry or a handful of sour cherries
Lemon juice, to garnish
A large scoop of ice cream, to make it even more naughty😜
• Heat your oven to 200 C (390 F) on upper and lower heat.
• Place the helva on a medium sized earth ware or clay oven dish or a cast iron pan. Using clay or cast iron is important because they heat up slowly and cool down slowly so the dessert can stay hot while eating.
• Add the chocolate and fruit. You can add some nuts as well.
• Place the dish into the middle rack of your oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until helva and chocolate melts. Give it a stir after 6 minutes.
• Take out from the oven and squeeze some fresh lemon juice to balance the sweetness and add a large scoop of ice cream! If you are lucky and can find ‘Maraş dondurması’ go with that and you will be in heaven after the first spoon!
►SUBSCRIBE ► ►► bit.ly/38QQ03R
►CHECK OUT OUR TURKISH CHANNEL ► ►► bit.ly/2EJ0NU3
►CHECK OUT OUR TURKISH VIDEOS W/ ENGLISH SUBTITLES ► ►► bit.ly/2G62xHD
►Our Etsy Store for International Shopping: etsy.me/32ShQwL
►Our Amazon Store for UK Shopping: amzn.to/2STqQzz
►Uluslararası Alışverişler İçin Etsy Sayfamız: etsy.me/32ShQwL
►To subscribe our Turkish channel: bit.ly/RefikaninYemekOkulu
To follow what is happening in our kitchen and cooking school;
►Facebook: / refikaninmutfagi
►Instagram: / refikabirgul
►Twitter: / refikabirgul
►Website: www.refikaninmutfagi.com