Note: Hi, friends! Just a a quick reminder – some of the links on this site are affiliate links, and so I may earn a little cash on qualifying orders. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and is a nice way to help support this site! I also want to point out that I don’t promote products I haven’t actually tried or products that I don’t trust. ๐
Guys, are you at all familiar with halvah? If not, you’re seriously missing out! For those of you whose palates are about to be expanded, halvah is a sesame-based* fudge-like candy that isย delicious. It’s also really high in sugar. Now, it’s hard enough to find regular, sugary halvah in the grocery store, so I knew that a sugar free, low carb halvah would have to be something that came out of my own kitchen.
A quick internet search brought up a few recipes for “sugar free” halvah, but most (if not all) contained agave nectar, or dates, or honey. And as we know, all of those things are sugar. So, how to make a sugar free Halvah that still had a reasonable texture? Cocoa butter!
These little cups are more like a peanut butter cup in texture, but I really have no problem with that. Plus, they’re nut free, paleo and vegan. They’re basically delicious, allergy-friendly fat bombs.
Notes on Making Sugar Free Low Carb Halvah Cups:
- Alternative Recipe: Omit the cacao butter, increase the unsweetened chocolate to 3/4 cup, increase the Swerve to 1/2 cup and make these in just one layer! Still delicious, and far more chocolatey!
- You could substitute coconut oil for the cocoa butter, but be sure to keep these in the fridge, especially when it’s warmer!
- Swerve can be a bit gritty in things that aren’t baked, so pulsing it in a coffee grinder to make it finer can work wonders for texture. You could also use the confectioner’s sugar-style Swerve.
- Adding a tsp of cinnamon brings some warmth and depth to these, but is in no way necessary.
- Depending on how oily your tahini is, these will set up differently. So, you may need to refrigerate these (unless it’s cold where you live right now).
- Obviously, you don’t need to add chocolate to this, and could just have these be tahini flavored.
Sugar Free Low Carb Halvah Cups
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup cocoa butter
- 1/4 cup sugar free chocolate chips or unsweetened baker's chocolate
- 1/3 Swerve or other granulated sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Tools:
- silicone muffin tin or a regular muffin tin with liners!
- double boiler - so a heat-safe bowl that fits over a pan
Instructions
- In a double boiler, melt together the cocoa butter and tahini.
- Stir in vanilla and Swerve until fully combined. Turn off the heat at this point.
- Scoop one tablespoon of the mixture into each well of your silicone muffin tin, and put in the fridge for about a half hour to set up.
- At this point, stir chocolate into remaining sesame mixture. The residual heat should melt everything nicely.
- Once the sesame mixture has chilled, scoop about a tablespoon of chocolate mixture on each one. It'll be slightly more than a tbsp, so a little bit of finagling is necessary. Or, you could just use a spoon and eat that part straight from the bowl. I won't judge.
- Chill the cups for another hour until everything is completely set.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
*Wikipedia is telling me that there are actually a lot of varieties of Halvah out there, but this is the one I love.
I made it with sugar and it was perfect, not overly sweet like most halvah related recipes. You can substitute pretty much any nut/seed butter in place of the tahini for endless variations. Coconut oil is a good alternative to expensive cocoa butter, unless you want to store them out of the fridge.
Thanks for commenting, Saulbass! I’m glad you liked these. I’m with you – I don’t like things too sweet. And your coconut oil suggestion is great, and definitely makes them more budget friendly ๐
What about using regular butter rather than cacao butter? I realize it may melt more easily, but if itโs eaten directly from the fridge, it shouldnโt be an issue. Yes?
I think you are right, Mike. As long as they are eaten right from the fridge, they should be solid!
Tried it. Real butter is AWESOME! I stuck them in the freezer. Eat em straight from there.
I’m so glad to hear, Mike! Thank you for sharing this variation ๐
Another variation my wife came up with:
Rather than freezing in a baking dish, a la fudge, pour into a jar and refrigerate a la Nutella.
Ooh, this sounds awesome! ๐
i didnโt grind my sugar-substitute and Iโm sorry that I didnโt. The flavor is great, but I definitely got the grittiness. I will definitely make these again, with finer sweetener (and maybe going all chocolate, with the cinnamon or some chili powder). Thanks for creating a great keto โcandyโ!