This is the most decadent and delicious hot chocolate halva cake, a self saucing chocolate cake that is gooey and studded with halva pieces and comes with it’s own decadent chocolate sauce. Chocolate and tahini in a cake together are absolutely delicious!
This is a recipe I made for Ramadan, and it was such a great ending to a meal, with the halva giving this beautiful Middle Eastern touch to a chocolate self saucing cake. If you want a no bake chocolate cake that’s also really gooey and delicious, try this chocolate cake trifle out.
If you want to really enjoy this to the max, have it with this karak chai. Yum!
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What is halva?
Halva is also known as halawa or rahash, depending on the part of the Middle East you are from. Halva is a traditional Middle Eastern fudge-like treat made always with tahini and sugar, and also an assortment of spices and nuts. It’s addictive and it works so well in baked goods!
Ingredients
- Flour: Regular all purpose flour
- Light brown sugar: You can also sub dark brown sugar, you’ll use this both in the cake and in the sauce
- Baking powder
- Cocoa powder: Natural cocoa powder and Dutch processed both work, you’ll use in the cake and in the sauce
- Salt
- Milk: Use whole or full fat milk
- Egg: Room temperature
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
- Halva (rahash): I’d go for the plain version, but if you want to use a pistachio or nutty version that’s fine too!
- Semisweet chocolate chips: Or any dark chocolate chopped
- Tahini: You can leave this out if you prefer, but a little swirl of tahini in the chocolate cake is delicious
- Boiling water: Make sure the water is boiling so it gives that self saucing effect
- Instant coffee powder: You can also use instant espresso powder
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions to make chocolate halva cake:
- Step 1: Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt to a large bowl.
- Step 2: Whisk to combine.
- Step 3: Melt the butter in a bowl. Add the milk, egg, and vanilla.
- Step 4: Pour this wet mixture into the flour mixture.
- Step 5: Mix well to combine.
- Step 6: Add the halva and the chocolate chips or chunks.
- Step 7: Mix gently to combine, without breaking up the halva chunks.
- Step 8: Spread the cake batter into a lightly greased pan.
- Step 9: Drizzle some tahini on top and swirl, and crumble more halva on top.
- Step 10: Add the cocoa powder, sugar, bowling water, and coffee powder to a medium bowl.
- Step 11: Mix gently until combined.
- Step 12: Pour this chocolate sauce mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter, and bake.
Hint: Be very careful when pouring the hot water over the cake so you don’t hurt yourself. Pour it out evenly over the full surface of the chocolate halva cake.
Baking pan
You can use an assortment of baking pans, but check the oven temperature accordingly. If using a larger 9×13 pan, start checking at 15 minutes.
How to serve:
This is best served right after it comes out of the oven, while the chocolate sauce is still gooey and liquid. I love this with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can even sprinkle some more halva on top, or drizzle some more tahini or some salted caramel sauce, or some hot fudge sauce to make this even more chocolatey.
Storing Leftovers:
Leftovers will last 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge, warm them briefly in the microwave. They may be less saucy then when it first comes out of the oven but will still be delicious!
Recipe variations:
Halva type – I used plain, you can also use pistachio, vanilla, even chocolate.
Nuts – You can mix in hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, or walnuts if you love having nuts in your desserts.
Ice cream- You can serve this without ice cream, and instead put a big dollop of whipped cream, or have it plain. You can also serve with a flavored ice cream like pistachio which would be delicious.
See this no churn Oreo Ice cream on my website- I think it would be delicious with this.
Expert tips and tricks:
- At each stage of mixing, don’t over mix. You want the cake to stay soft and gooey, and over-mixing can toughen it.
- Make sure the oven is preheated so that the cake is ready to bake immediately once that boiling water gets poured on top.
- Make this just before serving so you can get the yummiest effect by eating it right out of the oven.
Top Tip
Don’t overbake, you still want some moist crumbs on a toothpick, to get that chocolate lava cake effect.
Recipe FAQs:
This is to make a very special self saucing chocolate cake, which is a type of cake that creates it’s own sauce while baking.
Although I haven’t tried this, I think it would work very well with a gluten free baking blend in place of the flour.
You’ll be able to find halva in a large selection of supermarkets, check the Middle Eastern or ethnic food aisles. You can also find it at smaller Middle Eastern grocers, or at nearly any online retailer.
If you liked this recipe, you might like:
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Chocolate Halva Cake:
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Chocolate Halva Cake
Ingredients
For the cake base:
- 1 cup all purpose flour 125g
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar 100g
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder 20g
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk 120ml
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted 80g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped halva (rahash)
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate
- 1/4 cup tahini for swirling, optional
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder 20g
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar 100g
- 1 cup boiling water 250ml
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C) and lightly grease a 9×11 baking dish (pyrex, ceramic or metal). You can also use a 9×13 baking dish for a thinner pudding or an 8×8 for a thicker one, but you'll need to adjust baking time accordingly.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- In a medium bowl, combine the milk, egg, butter, and vanilla and then pour this wet mixture into the flour mixture. Use a spatula or wooden spoon and stir until the batter is smooth and without any large lumps.
- Gently fold in the chocolate chips and most of the halva, reserving just a little halva to sprinkle on top.
- Pour the batter into the prepared dish. Drop spoonfuls of tahini over the top of the batter and gently swirl with a knife, then sprinkle the reserved halva by crumbling over the top.
For the sauce:
- Add the cocoa powder, sugar, boiling water, and coffee powder to a medium bowl and stir together with a fork until smooth.
- Pour the liquid carefully and evenly on top of the cake batter then carefully transfer to the oven.
- Bake until the cake is puffy and just set. Start checking at 15 minutes if using a 9×13 pan, but it can take up to 25-28 minutes. You may have a little liquid still on top, but a toothpick inserted in the center will come out with a few crumbs and some chocolate sauce. Don't over bake so you still have that chocolate sauce pooling in it!
- Serve immediately while still hot and gooey, preferably with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Video
Notes
-
- At each stage of mixing, don’t over mix. You want the cake to stay soft and gooey, and over-mixing can toughen it.
- Make sure the oven is preheated so that the cake is ready to bake immediately once that boiling water gets poured on top.
- Make this just before serving so you can get the yummiest effect by eating it right out of the oven.
- Don’t overbake! A toothpick inserted in the center should still have a few crumbs, so you get that molten chocolate effect.
esther karasek says
i’m about to try this recipe but i don’t want to use flour. can i substitute with almond flour?
Farah Abumaizar says
I think the almond flour would weigh the cake down so you wouldn’t get that self saucing effect- would you try gluten free flour instead?