Traditional Halva with Spoon Sweets (46 moments from my life)
2022, early in the year, Larnaca. We're sitting relaxed with my beloved Kimonas Georgiou, Melina Skordeli, and Thea Kyprianou. We're brainstorming and the team… strikes gold: A halva with spoon sweets. A purely Cypriot sweet with a Parisian flair! The sweet indeed went viral, and its fame even reached England. I made it in London at the established travel exhibition after an invitation from the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.
INGREDIENTS
- • --- 1 ½ cups (270g) fine semolina
- • --- 1 ½ cups (300g) assorted spoon sweets
- • --- 3 tablespoons (45g) cornflour
- • --- 1 ½ cups (360g) sugar
- • --- 1 tablespoon (8g) zest from bitter orange or orange
- • --- ⅔ cup (160ml) sunflower oil
- • --- 1 cup (170g) blanched and coarsely chopped almonds
- • --- ½ cup (125ml) rosewater
- • --- 1 cinnamon stick
- • --- 7 ½ cups (1875ml) water
METHOD
- 1. Choose the spoon sweets you like. (Personally, I like bitter orange (nerantzi), green bitter orange, walnut, and bergamot). Rinse them, drain them, and finely chop them. Wet a round mold 24 cm in diameter and 9 cm high. Turn it upside down to drain the water. This will help our halva release more easily. In a bowl, place the chopped spoon sweets and sprinkle them with cornflour. Mix and set aside.
- 2. Choose the spoon sweets you like. (Personally, I like bitter orange (nerantzi), green bitter orange, walnut, and bergamot). Rinse them, drain them, and finely chop them. Wet a round mold 24 cm in diameter and 9 cm high. Turn it upside down to drain the water. This will help our halva release more easily. In a bowl, place the chopped spoon sweets and sprinkle them with cornflour. Mix and set aside.
- 3. Add the water, sugar, cinnamon, and rosewater. When it starts to thicken, stir quickly for 3 minutes. Remove the cinnamon and add the sweets. Stir to distribute the spoon sweets evenly throughout the mixture and pour the halva into the mold. Set aside to cool for 5 - 6 hours or overnight. Serve garnished with spoon sweets.
