Maison Alephs Sesame Halvah 1001 Feuilles Food

MAISON ALEPH'S SESAME-HALVAH 1,001 FEUILLES

Steps:

• Make the filling: Working with a mixer (preferably fitted with a paddle attachment), beat the butter, halvah and tahini together on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar, cornstarch and salt, and mix on low for 2 minutes more. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a minute after each goes in; you'll have a thick, smooth, shiny mixture (think mayonnaise). Stir in the sesame seeds. Scrape the filling into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (or for up to 2 days; longer is better than shorter).
• Build the layers: Lay the phyllo out on a piece of plastic wrap, and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Always keep the towel moistened: The dough dries in a flash.
• Brush the interior of a rimmed baking sheet (12 inches by 17 inches) with clarified butter. Place a sheet of dough in the pan, brush with butter and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar (use about 2 tablespoons of sugar per sheet). Continue until you have made 14 layers. Spread the filling evenly over the top, and then continue making layers with the remaining dough, buttering and sugaring each layer (you'll have some butter left; hold on to it). Refrigerate the setup for at least 30 minutes (or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day).
• Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 350 degrees. Using a pizza cutter (best) or a sharp knife, trim the edges (don't remove them), then cut as many 2-inch squares as possible, cutting all the way through the layers. Scatter the sesame seeds over the top.
• Bake for about 40 minutes, rotating the pan after 20 minutes, until the top is beautifully golden. Transfer to a cooling rack, and lightly brush with some of the reserved butter. Place a piece of parchment or foil over the surface, top with another baking pan and press evenly and firmly to compact the layers. Recut the squares, so they'll be easy to lift out. Let sit for 2 to 3 hours before serving (discard or nibble the trimmed edges). Stored tightly covered, the squares will keep at room temperature for about 2 days.

HALVAH MILLE-FEUILLES

Steps:

• Bake the phyllo:
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Stack the 8 sheets of phyllo and cut in half crosswise. Brush 1 half sheet of phyllo with oil and sprinkle with sugar. Layer another half sheet on top of the first and repeat with oil and sugar to form a stack of 4 half sheets, finishing the top layer with oil and sugar. Repeat with remaining half sheets to form 3 more stacks. Cut each of the stacks into 4 equal pieces to make 16 stacks. Transfer stacks to baking sheets and bake until golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
• Make the halvah cream:
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the honey or date syrup with the tahini. If using nondairy whipped topping, place in a large bowl and gently fold in the honey-tahini mixture. If using cream, beat until soft peaks form. Gently incorporate the honey-tahini mixture and whip to stiff peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Assemble the dessert:
• Place one phyllo stack on a dessert plate. Spread with a scant 1/4 cup halvah cream. Repeat with 3 more phyllo stacks and 2 more layers halvah cream. Repeat this process to form 3 more servings. Drizzle each stack with honey or date syrup, sprinkle with halvah crumbles, and garnish with raspberries.

SESAME HALVA, RAW VEGAN, GLUTEN FREE, WHEAT FREE, DAIRY FREE

Steps:

• process the sesame seeds for until a paste consistency, scrapping down the sides as required. This may take several minutes. If your machine gets warm (you don't want the paste getting too warm) just take a break and let it cool a bit. Now you have your own fresh tahini.
• Add the finely chopped dates (can use date paste here, I make my own date paste when I'm motivated so I've got it there for later) and vanilla and process scrapping down the sides until the dates are incorporated and the halva is a thick grainy paste. At this stage you take it out and mix by hand any additions you would like.
• Press it into a suitable container, preferably a shallow one and put it in the fridge, it's now ready to eat as is but it will firm up nicely overnight. Once it's set I like to tip it onto a plate and cut chunks off like cheese. Will keep in the fridge for a while.

HALVAH FILO CHEESECAKE (JEWISH)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• FOR THE CRUST: Spread 1 sheet of phyllo lightly with melted butter & with it line a 10-inch springform pan, allowing the excess to overhang.
• Repeat the process with another 4 sheets of phyllo, pressing each one into the pan, starting at the center & allowing the excess to drape over the sides~ If the phyllo you use is smaller, overlap the sheets to create the same effect. Reserve the remaining sheets of phyllo for garnishing the top after baking.
• FOR THE FILLING: In a bowl, cream the cheese with the 4 whole eggs, the 1 yolk, vanilla, sesame oil, yogurt, honey, sugar & flour, & combine until smooth, then stir in the nuts & halvah.
• Pour into the prepared shell, trim the phyllo overhang to rest just on the rim of the pan, then bake about 45 minutes or until the cake is set.
• Meanwhile, cut the remaining phyllo sheets in quarters & brush them with butter.
• Remove the cake from the oven & increase the temperature to 400 degrees F, then arrainge the butteres filo sheets on top of the cake in an irregular patchwork, but covering the surface of the cake.
• Return the pan to the oven to brown the top phyllo, about 8-10 minutes, then remove & chill the cake until set.
• FOR THE TOPPING: When ready to serve, warm the honey & drizzle it over the cake, before topping that with the toasted sesame seeds & chopped pistachio nuts.