Halva Cake with Dark Chocolate with homemade raw tahini

👨‍🍳 Method

To assemble

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 175°C (345°F) and grease a round pan 24 cm across.

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler and let cool slightly.

   Double boiler (bain-marie)orMicrowave

   💡In the microwave, melt in short bursts, stirring in between, until the chocolate and butter are smooth and liquid.
3. 3
   Grind the sesame seeds in a powerful blender about 3 minutes, until smooth paste forms.

   Blender

   💡At first the sesame looks like dry crumbs: keep grinding, scraping down the sides, and after a few minutes it releases its oil and turns liquid.

   💡In a food processor, grind in short pulses and check between pulses: it's easy to go from coarse to paste. (Sesame for tahini, on the other hand, is ground continuously.)
4. 4
   Taste and adjust the seasoning.
5. 5
   Stir the tahini into the melted chocolate.
6. 6
   Whip the eggs, sugar and vanilla 5 minutes, until the mixture is pale and fluffy.

   BowlHand mixerorStand mixerorWhisk

   💡Room-temperature eggs whip better than cold eggs. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking. Warm eggs also make a more stable foam that holds up in the oven.
7. 7
   Fold the melted chocolate into the whipped eggs gently.

   Silicone spatula

   💡Fold with a spatula, in broad strokes from the bottom up, and stop when there are no streaks: vigorous mixing knocks the air out of the foam. Add whipped mixtures in stages: a quarter first, to lighten the mixture.
8. 8
   Sift the flour and baking powder over the top and Fold gently, just until the batter is smooth.

   Silicone spatulaSifter

   💡Fold with a spatula, in broad strokes from the bottom up, and stop when there's no dry flour: vigorous mixing of a batter with flour develops gluten.
9. 9
   Add the halva to the batter and Fold gently.

   Silicone spatula
10. 10
    Pour into the pan and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

    Round pan
11. 11
    Bake 30–35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.

    OvenRound pan

    💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
12. 12
    Let cool 15 minutes in the pan and turn out.