makes
16
prep
20 minutes
cook
40 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
16
serves
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
40
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
This was a winning combination just waiting to happen. And happen it did, thanks to Paulina Bembel, our head pastry chef. Paulina, who comes from Poland, skilfully uses our Middle Eastern favourites – tahini and halva – to transform the famously cloying millionaire’s shortbread into something so much better, with a slight bitterness and a touch of salt to offset all that sweetness.
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 40 g icing sugar
- 35 g cornflour
- 40 g caster sugar
- 175 g unsalted butter, melted, and set aside to cool slightly
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 250 g plain flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
Halva
- 200 g halva, roughly crumbled into small pieces
- 80 g tahini
Tahini caramel
- 200 g caster sugar
- 120 ml water
- 100 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed
- 80 ml double cream
- 150 g tahini paste
- ¼ tsp flaky sea salt
Cooling time: 5 hours
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6. Line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment, making sure that the paper rises up over the edges of the tin.
For the shortbread, sift the icing sugar and cornflour into the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment in place, then add the caster sugar and mix on a medium speed. With the machine still running, slowly pour in the melted-but-cooled butter and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and reduce the speed to low, then sift in the flour and salt and continue to beat until the dough comes together.
Tip the mixture into the tin and use your hands to pat and even out the surface. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside until completely cool: this will take an hour or so, so don’t start making the caramel too soon or it will have set by the time the shortbread is cool.
For the halva layer, place the halva and tahini in a small bowl and mix with a wooden spoon to combine. Spread the mix over the cooled shortbread and use the back of a spoon to smooth it out to an even layer.
To make the caramel, place the sugar and water into a small saucepan and place over a medium-low heat. Stir occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, then increase the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and cook – still at a boil – for about 12 minutes, until the sugar is a deep golden brown. Remove from the heat and add the butter and cream: take care here, as the mixture will splutter. Whisk to combine and, once the butter has melted, add the tahini and salt. Whisk to combine again, then pour evenly over the halva layer in the tin, so that all of the halva is covered.
Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours until set, before cutting into bars, about 10 x 2.5cm. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the middle of each bar and serve.
Recipe from Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi & Helen Goh, photography by PEDEN + MUNK, (Ebury, $55). Read our and enter now to win a copy of the book .
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
This was a winning combination just waiting to happen. And happen it did, thanks to Paulina Bembel, our head pastry chef. Paulina, who comes from Poland, skilfully uses our Middle Eastern favourites – tahini and halva – to transform the famously cloying millionaire’s shortbread into something so much better, with a slight bitterness and a touch of salt to offset all that sweetness.
