Hot Chocolate and Halva Pudding #TheCakeSliceBakers

When I first was leafing through The New Way to Cook, I didn't expect that I'd be making this cake.  It sounded interesting--and tasty--but it's not really...how do you say...a looker?  I blog for the love of writing (and baking), but let's be honest--people *mostly* come for the pictures.

And this is not a pretty dessert.  But it IS a 'halva pudding. Ba--dum chhhh!

Hehehe *snorts*

When I was in college, a bunch of the guys I knew got together and had a "cake in a bowl" party.  They just threw cake and scoops of canned frosting into a bowl and ate it in copious amounts. Delicious, but not..er...French patisserie.

This is that kind of a cake.

Messy.

Indulgent.

The kind of dessert you order at a casual-dining chain restaurant when you decide to throw caloric caution to the wind.

"Any room for dessert?"

"No I'm stuffed. Wait--you know what?...what the heck. I shouldn't, but I'll take the Hot Chocolate Halva Pudding."

Yum.

It is essentially a lava cake, or (use your best British accent) a "self-saucing pudding."  It's a simple batter, spread in a dish then covered with a mixture of hot water, cocoa powder, and sugar.  It looks like it will be a sloppy disaster, but the water sinks to the bottom, miraculously creating a molten chocolate sauce underneath.

Like a liquid brownie. With a soft regular brownie on top.

What truly sets this apart as something special is the inclusion of a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean sesame candy called halva. It has a unique, fluffy, crumbly texture that melts in the mouth.  It is similar to mazapán--if you're familiar with that peanut-y Mexican confection. I bought mine at the local Middle Eastern/International foods store. If there’s one of those in your town, I guarantee they’ll have halva (sometimes spelled helva, helwa, or something close to that).

I enjoy the flavor by itself, but when baked into this lava cake, it turns into caramel-ly, slightly chewy bites of nutty delight that contrast beautifully with the rich chocolate. Sort of sophisticated riff on a Reese's peanut butter cup.

I found myself hunting for the halva bits with a spoon--the way that I scoop out the cookie dough chunks in a pint of cookie dough ice cream. 

It may not win any beauty pageants, but seriously, try this one. 

With a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Please and thank you ;)

Hot Chocolate and Halva Cake

from The New Way to Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi

Cake:

1 c flour

2/3 c brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 c cocoa

1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt

1/2 c milk

1 egg

1/3 c melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 c halva candy (vanilla or plain), chopped roughly

1/2 c dark chocolate chips

Magic Sauce:

4 T cocoa powder

2/3 c brown sugar

1 c boiling water

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a deep 9 x 12 (I used a 9 x 13) baking dish.

2. Whisk the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, butter and vanilla.  Pour this liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until the lumps are gone.  Gently fold in the halva and chocolate chips and smooth into the prepared dish.

3. In a medium bowl, use a fork to mix together the boiling water, cocoa, sugar, and espresso powder. Pour this over the cake batter without mixing.  Bake for 28ish minutes--until the cake puffs up and is just set. Serve hot--with a scoop of ice cream if you desire.

Enjoy ;)

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

It is a new year and a new book - The New Way To Cake - and our choices for November 2020 were ~ 

Hazelnut, Pear & Espresso Cake

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Making Miracles
• My Recipe Reviews

Hot Chocolate and Halva Pudding

• A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• A Little Bit of All Right
• Amandie Bakes
• Sweet Sensations

Double Ginger and Grapefruit Cakes

• Camille Cooks
• Karen's Kitchen Stories