Chocolate Halva Cake

This is the most delicious chocolate halva cake that's gooey and self saucing, sort of like a giant chocolate lava cake.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Diet Halal, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Servings people

Calories 599kcal

Author Farah Abumaizar

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 9x11 baking dish (pyrex, ceramic or metal). You can also use a 9x13 baking dish for a thinner pudding or an 8x8 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 9x13 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

Recipe tips:

- 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.

Ingredient Notes:

Cocoa powder: You can use natural or Dutch processed cocoa powder, just make sure it's unsweetened

Chocolate: You can use chocolate chunks, chocolate chips, or any roughly chopped chocolate

Halva: You can get this in any large supermarket or in any Middle Eastern grocer, or in online retailers. I went with plain halva, but you can also use pistachio, almond or chocolate.

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!

Nutrition