Six. Years. Old.
Who could even imagine it?
Won’t you join us for a piece of Salted Halvah Blondie to celebrate Blue Cayenne’s sixth birthday? The birthday cake recipe is from Claire Saffitz’ Dessert Person cookbook and it is sweet and savory and very very good. (You can buy the cookbook at your local bookstore or on Amazon here.)
Thank you, thank you to the people who have read this blog, encouraged us and cooked with us over the last six years. Thank you, too, to Al Nomura, our ever-patient and much-talented photography mentor.
We’ve met a lot of good people here. We’ve had our highs and our trolls but, in the big picture, this six-year cooking/photography/writing journey has been a joy.
To be honest, a big part of the “we” in Blue Cayenne is Sweet Juliet, Blue Cayenne’s Chief Quality Officer (CQO). Juliet has kept Blue Cayenne’s Editor on the straight and narrow more times than “we” care to mention. Trust me on this; Juliet is one tough cookie–a sort of “Devil Wears Prada” (with a heart of gold) in a doggie suit. Right now, she’s taking a little much-deserved R&R. She’s celebrating Blue Cayenne’s birthday and her favorite couture holiday–Halloween. (Lest you worry, there are extra Pumpkin Treats this weekend for this sweet little girl multi-talented CQO. )
Here’s the recipe.
Salted Halvah a Blondie
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
- 1 t. salt
- 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1 C. white chocolate (coarsely chopped)
- 4 oz. unsalted butter
- 1/4 C. tahini
- 1/2 C. brown sugar (light)
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 T. vanilla extract
- 1/2 C. Halvah (crumbled--I used vanilla)
- 2-3 T. sesame seeds
- Flaky salt
Directions
- Step 1 Use a 8 by 8 inch pan for this recipe. The pan should be lined with two sheets of foil (pressed into the corners of the pan and extending up the sides of the pan)and the foil needs to be generously buttered.
- Step 2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 3 Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Step 4 Combine white chocolate, butter and tahini in a glass bowl. Heat about 1 inch of water to boiling in a saucepan and position the bowl over the simmering water. (Don’t let the bowl touch the water!) Whisk the mixture until it is smooth. Remove from heat and let the mixture sit and cool for a few minutes.
- Step 5 Whisk the brown sugar into the slightly-cooled white chocolate mixture. Add the egg and egg yolks and the vanilla. Continue to whisk until the ingredients are fully combined and the mixture is thick and smooth.
- Step 6 Mix the flour/baking powder/salt mixture into the batter until the flour is combined with the wet mixture. Do not over-mix. Fold the halvah into the mixture, folding gently so as not to break up the chunks of halvah.
- Step 7 Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the surface of the batter. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the batter and sprinkle on the flaky salt. (I used Maldon.) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When your blondies are done they will be slightly brown around the edges but the center will jiggle a bit.
- Step 8 Cool, cut and serve. These blondies are moist and chewy like a good brownie. Cook’s Note: Halwah is a candy-like Middle Eastern paste made with sugar and ground sesame seeds. It is available online or in your local Middle Eastern grocery. It’s delicious and worth the extra search.
