Traditionally halva is an simple sweet treat often made with tahini or other nut butters and something sweet (like sugar or honey). When I first started eating a totally plant based diet I stumbled across a halva made with sesame seeds and grape juice. It sounds insanely simple, but it just works.
Some ‘treat-your-self’ indulgence – because you deserve it
After working all hours under the sun recently I finally ground to a halt tonight, feeling like I’d earned myself some fairly instant decadence! I didn’t want to bake or cook and I wanted something quick, so within about 10 minutes I’d created this super tasty, rich, indulgent sweet chocolate covered sweet treat. I popped it in the freezer to chill and was enjoying it shortly after. In this recipe I am using soft medjool dates to sweeten because they are already soft and instantly blend-able. If you don’t have medjool dates then use any dates, but do soften them in water for a half hour ahead of time. I also use ground sesame seeds and tahini for the main halva part. Make sure that you buy a nice light and creamy tahini – they do vary in taste a lot from brand to brand.
Chocolate – of course!
I couldn’t resist topping it off with some super-fast home made coconut chocolate. I whipped it up with coconut oil, coconut sugar and raw cacao powder. Here I am using a good quality, water based, vanilla extract for the chocolate topping – the tiny amount of water present in this extract is actually necessary to dissolve the coconut sugar. If you don’t have water based vanilla extract then sneaking in about a ¼ teaspoon of water should do the trick instead.
This is very rich, so it will satisfy about 4 people.
Here we go…
Healthy chocolate covered halva bars
A quick, tasty, healthy chocolate covered halva recipe made with natural ingredients. Free from refined sugar, without dairy, vegan and glutenfree.
Ingredients
- 100g medjool dates
- 1 tablespoon creamy tahini
- 4 tablespoons ground sesame seeds (or almonds)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
- 1/2 teaspoon water based vanilla extract
Instructions
Melt the coconut oil ahead of time
- If your coconut oil (for the chocolate) is solid then begin by putting it in a warm place to melt whilst you are creating the halva base.
Make the halva base
- Grind your sesame seeds in either a nut mill, seed grinder or if you are really keen then grind them the old fashioned way - with a pestle and mortar. Alternatively if that isn't an option, you can cheat and substitute with pre-ground almonds.
- Next, be sure that there are no pits in your dates!
- Use a hand blender (also known as an immersion blender) or small food processor to blend the dates with the tahini and vanilla. Once it is roughly blended together mix in the ground sesame seeds by using the back of a metal spoon to push and mix, until evenly combined throughout.
- When ready, push down and compact into a small parchment lined container to create a halva bar. Put it in the freezer while you make the chocolate part.
Making the chocolate topping
- Mix the melted coconut oil with the coconut sugar, cacao powder and vanilla extract. If your vanilla isn't water based then be sure to add a 1/4 teaspoon of water to help the coconut sugar to dissolve. Mix in for a minute or so.
- Take the halva base out of the freezer. Give your chocolate another mix and then pour on top of the halva. Pop it right back in the freezer and leave for about 20 minutes.
- When the chocolate topping is solid, slice in to mini bars or triangles and the enjoy right away.
- If there is any left then store it in the fridge or freezer. Since the chocolate topping has been made with coconut oil, it will melt if it gets too warm.
- Enjoy!
For more healthy sweet treats, check out my dessert page here: Trinity’s Delicious Desserts
Or check out my book here: Trinity’s Conscious Kitchen Book (and get a signed copy) I ship everywhere!
Wow! that sounds amazing! I will have to try it. Have you tasted the latest Biona coconut bliss coconut butter? It is out of this world . It has a sweet taste and has a crumbly texture but is pure coconut butter with nothing added! And its organic.
Just wanted to tell people to use pure/real vanilla essence as the ones you buy in supermarkets are petroleum based.
Hey nice to hear from you Lisa 🙂
Yes, definitely buy a good quality vanilla extract. You can get some decent options in supermarkets and health food stores these days too as well…
I haven’t tasted Bionas coconut butter yet. Sounds delicious. I am pretty sure that coconut butter is the same as creamed coconut block. Not to be confused with coconut oil that is called for in this recipe.
x
I have made these once before and they are delicious! My only question is I had to guess on how much 100g of dates were and I’m not sure I used the correct amount! Can you please tell me the amount in either the number of dates or measurement? Thanks so much!
Wonderful to hear that these worked out well for you Kathy.
100g of pitted dates with the dates I currently have in my kitchen, works out to about 3/4 of a cup (or about 12 dates).
Kindest thanks.
x
Hi, How many bars should this make? Thank you