It’s fair to say that I’ve been a little out of kilter since Christmas. The sickness and building work have taken their toll on our little family. It’s been hard to find the energy to bake when there’s dirt and dust everywhere and the sickness has meant there’s been little point baking anyway! We’re on the home straight now with the house renovations and the boys went back to school this week. I’m currently baking my first cake commission of the year and have lots of exciting projects planned before the end of February. So, I’m taking a metaphorical deep breath and this year is going to be so much fun :)
There are so many recipes I have in the pipeline for this year but there was one sweet treat that I’ve had my eye on for a little while now. I've been loving watching Rick Stein on his TV travels trying different foods from different cultures and cooking some of them for us. We have a couple of his recent books and this sweet treat comes from Venice to Istanbul: Discovering the Flavours of the Eastern Mediterranean. I’m going to start by telling you that this isn’t the most photogenic of bakes but what it lacks in appearance, it makes up for in the sweetest little mouthful that is wonderful with a cup of coffee. I love marzipan and this is, for me, the closest flavour and texture for Halva - but the big difference is that it’s made with hazelnuts rather than almonds.
Halva is part of many different cultures but this version is closest to the Turkish sweet dessert that’s served with coffee after dinner. It's made by frying semolina in oil to form a roux and then cooking it with sugary milk. The ingredients are simple and the process too, but it takes a watchful eye whilst it's cooking on the stove.
I have a petit-four mould and decided to use this to create little shapes rather than serve slices of it. This was met with mixed success! It was a little tricky getting the Halva out of the mould and a few fell by the wayside as they lose their shape very easily. You can also set this in a greased springform tin and then cut it into slices when its ready. But I kind of like the petit four shape and am comfortable with accepting the casualties as a very important taste test :)
This would make a great after dinner treat for a party with friends and family. It is very sweet but I'd liken it to having a marzipan petit-four with albeit a slightly less set texture. And great to try something from another culture that provides a talking point. Although it is making me yearn for a little winter warmth in sunnier climes in these days of London greyness and sleet!
hazelnut semolina halva
from Rick Stein's Venice to Istanbul: Discovering the Flavours of the Eastern Mediterranean
Ingredients
- 250ml full-fat milk
- 250g caster sugar
- 125g sunflower oil
- 25g whole hazelnuts, plus a 1 tbp chopped hazelnuts
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla
Method
- Warm the milk and sugar over a medium heat and stir them until the sugar is dissolved, but don't boil the mixture
- Place the warm milky syrup to one side
- In a large deep frying pan, mix the semolina and sunflower oil and cook for around 8 minutes, continually stirring
- Add the whole hazelnuts and lemon zest and cook for another 8 minutes until the semolina has turned a golden brown
- Add the milky syrup a little at a time, whilst continually stirring until they're thoroughly combined
- Turn the heat down low and cook for around 25 minutes
- Add the vanilla extract
- Once the halva is out of the pan, it doesn't really change its consistency so you need to ensure that it's as set as possible - it should hold its shape in the pan when you draw your spoon through the mixture
- Lightly grease a mould or mini moulds and press the mixture into the cavity/cavities
- When it's cooled, very gently turn it out of the mould - you may have to draw the mixture away from the sides of the mould and ease it on its journey to the plate
- Sprinkle the reserved 1 tbp chopped hazelnuts on top of the halva
- Serve with a cup of tea or coffee post-dinner :)