This halva diva cake with tahini buttercream, chocolate ganache and crushed pistachios is a perfect cake for passover.
There was always a brick of halva in my mom’s refrigerator, right on the door, where the butter was supposed to be. I have no idea where it came from, because Vermont wasn’t known for its Jewish markets and yet, it was always there. I suspect she bought it when we would visit her family in Brighton Beach and it just lasted the year between visits.
Halva is basically tahini fudge and it’s rich, sweet, earthy and decadent. A tiny sliver cut off of the brick totally satisfied my craving for sweets. My mom didn’t keep sugar in the house, which you will know if you read my book! (I’ve since forgiven her for the “raisin lie” and we’re still working on the carob resentments). I now keep bricks of halva in my refrigerator and take a sliver once in a while to satisfy something deeper than just a craving for sweets. The halva I keep is from Seed and Mill and it is worlds better than what I remember as a kid.
This Halva Diva Cake is a mashup of several recipes from Zoë Bakes Cakes and the perfect example of how you can use the book, beyond all of the cakes I’ve stepped out in its pages. Mixing and matching cakes, fillings and frostings is where your creativity will shine through and inspire the rest of us. I do hope you’ll play with different combinations and share them with the rest of us.
You may recall my original Blackberry Diva Cake from years ago, it too is in the book and the assembly is the same for this cake, but I used the pavlova roulade cake layer (baked flat and kept that way), ganache, tahini buttercream, crushed halva (Molly Yeh has a fantastic recipe for it in her book, Molly on the Range, or get some from Seed and Mill) and crushed pistachios. This cake is gluten-free and perfect for Passover or any other occasion you want something delicious!
Ingredients
Pavlova
- 5 egg whites (150g), at room temperature
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 3 tbsp cold water
- 1 1/4 cups (250g) superfine sugar
- 1 tbsp plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch (potato starch can be substituted)*
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp vinegar white wine, cider, or distilled
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Chocolate ganache
- 8 oz bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (dairy-free cream can be substituted)*
Tahini American Buttercream
- 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature (dairy-free butter can be substituted)*
- Pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup tahini
For Assembly
- 1 cup crushed halva
- 1 cup crushed pistachios
Instructions
Pavlova
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 16×12-inch sheet pan, then line it with greased parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar and beat on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- Turn the mixer speed to medium-low and drizzle in the water. Slowly sprinkle in the sugar a little at a time; this may take a minute or so. Turn the speed to high and whip until very stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the cornstarch, vanilla, and vinegar into the egg whites.
- Evenly spread the pavlova batter in the prepared pan. Bake until the pavlova starts to turn a light caramel color, about 20 minutes. It will puff considerably while it bakes but will settle once it is out of the oven. Let the pavlova cool completely. (Just leave it in the pan, dust with confectioners’ sugar, and cover with a clean kitchen towel for up to 1 day.)
Ganache
- Heat the heavy cream to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate.
- Swirl the pan to submerge the chocolate. Let sit for 3 minutes then gently whisk until smooth. Keep in pot until ready to use.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat confectioners’ sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla at medium speed until smooth.
- Add enough tahini, while beating, to make a smooth, spreadable frosting. Beat until combined and smooth, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Use immediately.
Assembly
- Loosen the pavlova from the pan. Spread 1 cup of the ganache over the pavlova and sprinkle with the crushed halva and all but 2 tablespoons of the pistachios. Refrigerate until solid.
- Spread the buttercream over the chilled ganache. Refrigerate until solid.
- Cover the cake with plastic and invert onto the back of a second baking sheet. Remove the parchment from the bottom and invert onto a cutting board. Cut the cake in half along the long side and in thirds on the short side, so you have 6 sections. Stack the sections. Use a knife dipped in hot water to clean up any straggly bits.
- Pour the remaining ganache over the top of the cake and sprinkle with remaining pistachios. Transfer to serving plate. Serve at room temperature.
I am gluten free so this is a dream. Passover or not. But now I cannot eat pistachios, hopefully not for forever. I assume that almonds would work but not as well. What do you think? There isn’t another nut quite like pistachios. Thank you.
Hi Alene! The pistachios are only used as a garnish here, so you could definitely try almonds instead to see if you like it. Enjoy!
Made the bourbon apple cake. Tasty but too sweet. I have spent alot of time in Europe where desserts have less sugar. I just bought Zoe bakes cakes. Love the recipes but planning to make banana next week but it has 2 cups of sugar. My question can I half the sugar in your cake recipes like I usually do.
Hi Dee, the banana cake makes two loaves, which is why it calls for 2 cups sugar. You can try reducing the sugar, but maybe make half the recipe to make sure you like the results. Zoë has not tested her cake recipes with half the sugar so cannot guarantee how it will end up if that much sugar is removed!
What should be used to grease the pavlova pan…..olive oil, butter? Wondering if either would affect the taste.
This looks interesting!
Hi Heide, you can use whatever you prefer. Olive oil and butter both taste quite different, but if you often use one or the other and like the taste, you can use either. Cooking spray would also work well!
This recipe looks great. Does it freeze well? Thank you!
Hi Helene, because this has meringue layers, Zoë does not recommend freezing it as the texture of meringue can become a bit strange and sticky when frozen. You could always try freezing a slice of it to see how it does!
Looks incredible! Can you please indicate how many this serves? Thanks.
Normally, I’d save this for Passover, as the designated dessert maker), but was eyeing this to bring to a family birthday party (3 July bdays) esp since the some of the bday peeps are GF or are avoiding dairy. I wondered if Zoe had any favorite dairy free creams or dairy free butters that she might use? I’m going to have to go with Joya halva since I can only find the bars ‘round these parts. Thank you! -Mare
Hi Mari! Zoë hasn’t worked with dairy free cream before, but she has baked with Country Crock Plant Butter and was happy with the results!
I’m planning to make this dessert this weekend! What’s the best way to store the leftovers?
Hi Beth! They will need to be refrigerated. We hope you’ll come back and leave a rating and review once you’ve made it! Happy baking!
This cake was stunning. Made it for a gathering of friends, who were all very impressed with the details!