I had my first proper halva experience at The Halva Kingdom in the Machane Yehuda Shuk in Jerusalem. I’d never really liked halva before that–the one or two times I’d tasted it, it always had a weird, crumbly texture and slightly bitter aftertaste. But in the shuk, surrounded by dozens of varieties of blocks of halva, I couldn’t resist trying the sample offered to me by the charming vendor.
You guys, it was so, so good! I was pleasantly shocked at how much I liked it. It had this unbelievably creamy, melt-in-your-mouth consistency and a satisfying richness. I bought two varieties–pistachio and coffee–to take home, and couldn’t resist nibbling on the candy the whole tram ride back.
Since then, I’m a total halva convert. I just love its unique texture–it’s dense, creamy and fluffy all at once, and its distinct sesame flavor. I also adore tahini and have been using it in myriads of ways: mixed with honey and swirled with Greek yogurt, in an ice cream that tastes like the frozen version of halva, even spread on toast with melted dark chocolate.
I decided it was high time to turn my favorite flavor trio into a baked good and came up with these buns. Here, a cinnamon-spiced dough is topped by a butter, chocolate and cocoa filling, which is then swirled together with a sweetened tahini paste. The whole thing is topped with crumbles of halva and sliced into big, thick rounds which bake up soft and fluffy.
Drizzled with a tahini icing as soon as they come out of the oven, the buns are fudgy, rich and bursting with flavor. They’re as decadent as possible–but not too overpowering that you won’t want more than one–and I love that these are the sort of treat that work for both dessert and coffee time. (Side note: is coffee time a thing? Yes? No? It should be.)
These buns have a lot going on, but it just works. Even non-halva lovers will get in on the action, finding the combination of sesame and chocolate deliciously alluring. But then again, who can resist the siren call of a bun? Yell “I got buns, hun!” and you’ll have everyone lined up, ready to taste these for themselves.