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Russian halva recipe
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Russian sunflower seeds halva

The sunflower seeds halva practically melts in your mouth. It tastes heavenly tender, slightly nutty and incredibly delicious. You can easily make the world favorite candy at home with this recipe.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Russian
Cook Time 40 minutes
Cooling time 2 hours
Servings 600 g

Equipment

  • high performance blender
  • kitchen thermometer

Ingredients

  • 400 g peeled sunflower seeds
  • 200 g sugar
  • 50 ml water
  • 1 egg white (about 30 g for me)
  • 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Line a not too large, rectangular container with baking paper.
  • Roast sunflower seeds in a coated pan without fat over medium heat, stirring, until golden, about 10 - 15 minutes.
  • Immediately transfer the roasted sunflower seeds to a clean bowl and let cool.
  • Using a high-powered blender, puree the sunflower seeds to a spreadable mass (sunflower seed paste) and transfer to a mixing bowl.
  • Add sugar and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring so that the sugar dissolves before the syrup boils.
  • Let the sugar syrup boil over medium heat, without stirring it, until it reaches 248 °F - 252 °F (120 °C - 122 °C). For me, it took about 5 minutes.
  • Beat egg white with salt in parallel to make beaten egg white.
  • Start beating the egg white again and immediately pour the hot sugar syrup in a thin stream.
  • After you have introduced the sugar syrup into the beaten egg white, beat the egg white mixture for another 1 - 2 minutes so that it becomes glossy and chewy.
  • Immediately add the egg white mixture to the sunflower seed paste and mix.
  • Put the halva mixture into the container lined with baking paper, press it down, cover it with baking paper and refrigerate it for about 2 hours.
  • Take the halva out of the container and cut it into pieces.

Notes

  • You don't necessarily have to blend the egg white sugar mixture and the sunflower seed paste into a homogeneous mass. The more inhomogeneous the mixture remains, the more layered and fibrous your halva will be later.
  • Don't beat the egg white mixture too long after you introduce the sugar syrup, because it will set quickly. Also mix the egg white sugar mixture with the sunflower seed paste as quickly as possible.
  • It's best to use a kitchen thermometer to measure the sugar syrup temperature.
  • Store the homemade halva in the refrigerator.
  • Note the detailed tips and tricks for making the sunflower seeds halva at the top of the post.