Halva (Russian Sunflower Halva)
Sunflower halva is the crumbly, fibrous sweet that Soviet and Russian childhoods were built on — instantly recognizable by its toasted-seed aroma and the way it flakes into soft layers. Roasted sunflower seeds are ground to an oily paste, bound with a hot sugar syrup, and worked until the mass turns fibrous rather than smooth. Unlike Middle Eastern tahini halva, the star here is the sunflower seed, giving a deeper, nuttier flavor.
Ingredients
- 300 gshelled sunflower seeds
- 200 gsugar
- 30 gflour
- 80 mlwater
- 50 gvegetable oil
- 10 gvanilla sugar
Method
- Toast the shelled sunflower seeds in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 5–7 minutes until golden and fragrant. Don't let them brown too far — scorched seeds turn the halva bitter. Cool completely.
- Toast the flour separately in a dry pan, stirring, until it smells nutty and turns pale gold. This removes the raw taste and helps the halva crumble properly.
- Blend the cooled seeds in a powerful food processor for several minutes until they release their oil and turn into a thick, wet paste. Blend in the toasted flour and the vegetable oil.
- Make the syrup: combine the sugar and water in a heavy pan and cook over medium heat, without stirring, to about 118–120°C — thick and bubbling but not coloured. Stir in the vanilla sugar.
- Pour the hot syrup into the seed paste and mix hard with a spatula. Keep working the mass as it cools — this is what pulls it into the characteristic fibrous, layered texture rather than a smooth paste.
- Press the mixture firmly into a paper-lined dish or mould, compacting it well so it holds together.
- Chill 3–4 hours, or overnight, until firm. Turn out and cut into pieces. It keeps for weeks in a cool, dry place.
FAQ
The base ingredient is the biggest difference: Russian halva is built on roasted sunflower seeds, while Middle Eastern halva uses tahini (sesame paste). Sunflower gives a deeper, nuttier, slightly darker flavor, while sesame halva is paler and more delicate. Traditional tahini halva also often uses a foaming agent (soapwort root) to create its very light, layered texture, whereas sunflower halva relies on hard mixing of the paste and syrup to develop its fibers.
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