Halva Diva Cake
Plus, a Q&A with Rachel Simons, author of Sesame and her corn salad recipe for "Extras" subscribers!
I’d heard glowing things about Rachel Simons and her shop Seed + Mill for years before I got a chance to visit. I was finally at Chelsea Market in NYC for an interview at Food Network, whose offices are located upstairs from Rachel’s sesame empire. The interview with the network was a bit of a bust, since they didn’t think baking shows without boxed cake were a recipe for success. But, the day was saved by a big swirly cone of tahini ice cream at Seed + Mill. (And, I ended up at Magnolia baking from scratch!) Ever since that day, tahini ice cream has become a regular stop whenever I am in the city. During one of those stops I finally ran into Rachel (photo below of that moment) and was immediately taken with her bright smile and near-obsessive passion for everything sesame.
As you may know, my hippie childhood had a sweets deficit, but the one treat my mom always had in the refrigerator was a block of halva. It is best described as tahini fudge. Super rich and decadent, but also earthy and soulful. The halva of my childhood was very simple and tasted of sweet sesame, sometimes a swirl of chocolate. Rachel has taken halva to new heights with artistic new flavor combinations, such as toasted coconut and tart cherry. These would have been considered wild to my late Grandma Berkowitz, but she would have loved them. I brought some to my mom and she was speechless with joy!
GIVEAWAY!
Rachel has generously offered THREE of you a copy of Sesame! Just leave a comment below or like this post to be entered to win. USA addresses only. We will draw a winner mid-week and notify the winners via email or Substack message.
Halva Diva Cake
The brick of halva in my mom’s refrigerator was 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 is rich, sweet, earthy and decadent. It is also gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. A tiny sliver cut off of the brick totally satisfied my craving for sweets and hits all the nostalgia notes. 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 from Seed + Mill is worlds better than what I remember as a kid.
This gluten-free Halva Diva Cake was inspired by Rachel’s halva and a true mashup of several recipes from Zoë Bakes Cakes. The pavlova roulade (unrolled), the halva buttercream and chocolate ganache stacked together into a true diva! It’s the perfect example of how you can use the recipes in the book, mixing and matching cakes, fillings and frostings to create something new and all YOU! Let your creativity shine through and then come back here and let us know what you’ve created as an inspiration to the rest of us.
Bonus recipe for my “Extras” subscribers: In addition to Rachel’s interview below, she has also shared her grilled corn salad with a creamy tahini and lime dressing from her book. It’s summer as it’s very best! Get the recipe below her Q&A. If you’re not yet an “Extras” subscriber, be sure to upgrade your account for full access.
