tahini and halva floss brownies

In the last few weeks, several major food publications and leaders have finally stood up and recognized (what I like to call) their unbearable whiteness of being. After the Muslim Ban, Food52 started highlighting recipes from the targeted countries, before finally going all-in with this post and declaring that they were making efforts to hire a more diverse staff. Bon Appetit, arguably the most influential of all food publications, proudly dedicated its March issue to immigrant food and placed two markedly non-white ladies on the cover.

And here's where it gets tricky: 99% of me fully appreciates all these efforts, especially as both an immigrant to the United States and a POC. But there's this 1% in the back of my head that I can't quite ignore. The one that's whispering: this is cool and all, but why now?

Of course, the answer to that question is simple: because of President Trump, duh. The last election and our new president (yes, OURS — I hate the folks who say tahini

Some baker's notes:

• These brownies were adapted from an old Ottolenghi recipe that I bookmarked years and years ago. The brownies are intensely chocolatey and are on the bittersweet side, made even more so with the addition of unsweetened tahini and halva floss. For those unfamiliar, halva floss, also known as pismanye or "Turkish cotton candy", is made by flossing thin strands of halva with wheat and sugar until it takes on the texture of cotton candy. Halva floss is available online, or in Middle Eastern specialty stores (I got mine at the Damascus Bread & Pastry Shop near Sahadi's in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn). In a pinch, you can also just use regular halva.


• I was expecting the tahini topping to have the texture of cream cheese in a cream cheese brownie; however, the tahini was a little too liquidy when spread onto the brownie top, and probably could have used an egg yolk and a pinch of sugar to thicken it up. I also found that the tahini ended up cooking faster than the rest of the brownie batter because of its thin and liquidy consistency. To help prevent it from bubbling and burning, I suggest covering the brownie pan with aluminum foil halfway through the baking time.

Tahini and Halva Floss Brownies

(adapted from Ottolenghi)

---

---

Ingredients

For the Tahini and Halva Floss Brownies:

(makes one 9 x 13-inch tray)

• 1 cup (2 sticks // 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 8 ounces dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao), roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces) granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 "scant" cup (4.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (1 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (4 ounces) walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) tahini paste
• 2.5 ounces halva, broken into 1 to 2-inch chunks
• 1/3 "heaping" cup (2 ounces) halva floss

---

Recipe

For the Tahini and Halva Floss Brownies:

1. Combine 1 cup unsalted butter chunks and 8 ounces roughly chopped dark chocolate in a medium, heatproof bowl. Set the bowl containing the ingredients over a small saucepot filled with a little bit of water (ensuring that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water) to make a double boiler. Place over medium heat and stir the ingredients occasionally until both the butter and chocolate have melted completely. Remove bowl from heat and set aside on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.


2. When the butter and chocolate have cooled, center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 (F). Prepare a 9 x 13-inch pan by lining the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Set aside.


3. In the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 4 large eggs. Beat on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, at least 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer to its lowest setting and slowly pour in the butter and chocolate mixture (from the 1st step). Once all the mixture has been added, stop the mixer and sprinkle 1 scant cup all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt over the mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture by hand, being careful not to overmix — fold just until the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the mixture. At this point, it's okay to still have 1 or 2 small flour streaks left. Sprinkle 1 cup walnuts over the mixture and fold just until they are incorporated throughout the mixture.


4. Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and use an offset spatula to spread it evenly across the pan and smoothen the top. Use a spoon to scoop 1/2 cup tahini paste on top of the batter in about 12 places, before using the back of the spoon to swirl it a just a little into the mix. Don't swirl it in too much tough! You want it to be a little uneven for texture. Dot the chunks of the halva on the brownie surface, pushing each chunk a little into the batter so that is about 50% submerged but still visible. Sprinkle 1/3 cup halva floss across the top to finish.


5. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is crisp but the middle still has a slight wobble and is gooey inside. The brownies will seem a bit undercooked, but they will firm up as they cool down. Serve warm and gooey, or at room temperature. Enjoy!

---

---