In the new movie Golda, about Golda Meir, there is a scene where they talk all about the cakes she would serve in her Kitchen Cabinet. We tried to uncover some secret recipes, but they have been locked up and hidden away with other state secrets. Still when we spoke to her grandson he mentioned a halva cake that we couldn’t get out of our head. Described as a chocolate torte with chocolate and halva frosting, we had to give it a try.
A torte is really just a cake that is made with less flour and is thus a bit more dense. Usually it is made with a few thinner layers with frosting in between compared to the most common 2 fluffy layers in a cake. We wanted to make this easy and accessible to all so decided to make.
Ingredients
Servings 12 servings
Cake
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup neutral oil 120 ml
- ⅓ cup raw tahini 70 g
- ¾ cup sour cream (use dairy free if desired) 200 g
- ¾ cup low fat milk 180 ml
- 1 cup sugar 200 g
- 3 tablespoons silan (date honey) 70 g
- Pinch salt
- ½ cup cocoa powder 70 g
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 210 g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder 10 g
Frosting
- 1 cup butter or vegan butter, unsalted, room temperature 227 g
- ⅓ cup tahini 85 g
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar 180 g
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 23 g
- 4 ounces halva, broken into chunks 115 g
Garnish
- Shredded or crumbled halva
Nutritional Facts
Nutrition Facts
Chocolate Halva Torte
Amount per Serving
Calories
618
% Daily Value*
Fat
40
g
62
%
Saturated Fat
15
g
94
%
Trans Fat
1
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
7
g
Monounsaturated Fat
14
g
Cholesterol
94
mg
31
%
Sodium
298
mg
13
%
Potassium
238
mg
7
%
Carbohydrates
62
g
21
%
Fiber
3
g
13
%
Sugar
33
g
37
%
Protein
9
g
18
%
Vitamin A
696
IU
14
%
Vitamin C
1
mg
1
%
Calcium
112
mg
11
%
Iron
5
mg
28
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉/170℃ and grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans or 3 (6-inch) pans layering.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, tahini, sour cream, milk, sugar, silan and salt until a uniform mixture is obtained.
- Add cocoa powder, flour and baking powder and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan or pans.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs.
- Cool slightly at room temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.
- Place the butter and tahini in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the cream, vanilla and salt then beat until smooth. Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder together into a bowl. Lower the mixer speed and beat in the powdered sugar and cocoa until just combined.
- Pause mixing to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl then increase the speed back to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 4 minutes.
- Beat in the halva chunks until evenly distributed.
- Once cake has cooled it’s time to assemble.
Assemble Cake
- Place bottom layer on a sheet pan or cake plate. Spread a layer of frosting over top before placing the next layer of cake, repeat for the second layer and/or third. Once all layers are on spread remaining frosting all around cake. Garnish with shredded halva on top.
Omg YUM but decadent. I just want one taste. If I made it I would take a tiny taste every day till it was gone.
Look at that fat content😩
Haha, I know, you have to make it for a party.