Just 3 ingredients are needed to make this fabulous and impressive halva ice-cream pie! A perfect make-ahead dessert for a special occasion.
Halva ice-cream is one of my daughter Kipper’s favourite desserts. She loves halva, and she loves ice-cream, so it really shouldn’t be much of a surprise!
I’m quite keen on it myself as it’s delicious, guests always love it, and it only takes 10 minutes to make!
What is halva?
Halva is a delicious confection made with tahini (sesame paste) and sugar. It has a unique dense and flaky/crumbly texture and a wonderful flavour. It’s also a surprisingly good source of plant-based protein, calcium and iron!
Halva originates in the Middle East where it is very popular, and is also enthusiastically eaten in North Africa, Turkey, Greece, and throughout the Jewish diaspora. The most common flavours are vanilla or chocolate, but some specialty halva makers boast more exotic varieties such as malabi, za’atar or tiramisu!
Halva ice-cream for a crowd
It’s been a while since I made halva ice-cream. The last time was for a dinner for my shul. We served scoops of it for dessert, topped with chopped toasted nuts and drizzled with date syrup. If you don’t want to make the ice-cream into a pie, this is a delicious alternative, and also super easy.
And if nuts and silan (date syrup) aren’t your thing, then chocolate sauce, more crumbled halva, and maybe even a wafer biscuit are all wonderful accompaniments.
Why pie?
As I said above, this halva ice-cream is terrific as an easy dessert. However, I decided to fancy it up a bit for YomTov by scooping it into a crumb crust and making a halva ice-cream pie. Really it’s a presentation thing. A slice of ice-cream pie, drizzled with sauce and maybe some fresh fruit on the side – gorgeous!
I like to use dairy-free vegan ice-cream, which makes this yummy halva ice-cream pie a versatile parve dessert. However you can use whichever ice-cream you like. I’m sure it’s just as delicious with real dairy ice-cream!
I also had some curly halva which I was sent in error a while ago after ordering ‘normal’ halva. It’s a bit weird if I’m honest, but makes a beautiful decoration for the top of this halva ice-cream pie!
Standby dessert
Because it’s stored in the freezer until you need it, this delicious ice-cream pie is a fabulous make-ahead dessert. It will be fine for a week or even longer, so you can keep one on standby for when you need a pudding in a hurry.
It also means that any leftovers can be popped back into the freezer and eaten at your leisure. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I do get an urge for a slice of delicious ice-cream pie at 11am on a Tuesday morning. Or whenever. You get my point.
Ingredients in halva ice-cream pie
This yummy and impressive dessert contains only three ingredients. They are:
- Halva – of course!
- Vanilla ice-cream – I used Swedish Glace to keep it parve (dairy free) but you can use whichever kind you like
- A ready-made biscuit crumb crust, which depending where you are might also be called a Graham cracker crust
Halva ice-cream pie – just 10 minutes effort
If you have the ingredients to hand, it really can be ready in 10 minutes – or less! This one was done in 10, and I kept stopping to take photographs. You could probably do it in 5 minutes, if you’re good. Speedy!
YomTov surprise!
I haven’t told Kipper that this halva ice-cream pie is on our YomTov menu, so I’m already anticipating squeals of delight when it comes to the table! I hope your family enjoy this dessert as much as mine does!
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📖 Recipe
10 minute halva ice-cream pie
Ingredients
- 300 g vanilla ice-cream or dairy-free alternative
- 250 g halva
- 1 graham cracker pie crust
Suggested toppings (optional)
- silan (date syrup)
- chopped nuts – hazelnuts and pistachios are both good
- chocolate sauce
- grated/chopped chocolate
- shreds of curly halva
Instructions
- Remove the ice-cream from the freezer and scoop into a mixing bowl. Set aside to soften.
- Coarsely chop the halva into small pieces.
- Add the halva to the ice-cream and mush and smoosh everything together till well mixed. It should still be fairly 'solid' and not too melted.
- Spoon the halva ice-cream mixture into the graham cracker pie crust. Ease it to the edges with a spoon or spatula and gently smooth the top.
- Cover with plastic wrap and return to the freezer until you're ready to serve!
- Add any desired toppings, slice, serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
More quick and easy dessert recipes
If you love easy desserts with just a handful of ingredients, why not try:
- fabulous vegan rich chocolate tart
- quick & easy biscoff cheesecake dip
- delicious 3-ingredient Nutella shortbread biscuits
You can browse more YomTov recipes for Rosh Hashanah here.
FAQ and Top Tips
In theory, yes! Halva is totally vegan, so if you use a dairy free (vegan) ice-cream, and make sure your crust is parve and egg-free, then this dessert is completely vegan.
The halva ice-cream part is totally gluten free. The crust however, is not. You can serve just the ice-cream part, topped with nuts and syrup, as suggested above, and that would be a great gluten-free dessert. Alternatively, you can make your own crumb crust using gluten free biscuits (cookies).
Yes, absolutely! This delicious dessert will happily sit in the freezer for several weeks, awaiting its moment of glory. You can prepare ahead of time, and then eat any leftovers at your leisure.
This rather depends on who’s eating it! However I would say this recipe makes 8 servings of yummy halva ice-cream pie.
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Elizabeth L Applebaum
Hi from Detroit! I made this pie for the first night of yontiv, and it is delicious! My daughters and I couldn’t stop eating it (even though it was quite cold in our sukkah by the time we got to dessert…) Thank you so much for posting this!
Helen
Thanks Elizabeth! That’s so great to hear that you enjoyed it. I often find myself ‘just tidying up the edge’ too!
Kat (The Baking Explorer)
Ice cream in a pie sounds heavenly!
Helen
Thanks Kat! It’s certainly yummy 🙂
Easy to serve too.
Chloe Edges
Wow, this is a real showstopper! I’ve never even heard of curly halva but you’re right, it makes a cracking decoration!
Helen
Thanks Chloe! I’d never come across curly halva either, until it was delivered by mistake when I asked for the normal kind 🙂
Janice
I love halva and ice cream pies, so this is calling to me. Where do you get your Graham Cracker pie shell? I’ve never seen them
In the UK.
Helen
Hi Janice. You can usually find the pie shells in kosher shops, or in the kosher section of your local supermarket – assuming your local supermarket has a kosher section! You can also find them on Amazon, although they are crazy prices compared to in the shops. If you can’t get a readymade pie shell, the ice-cream is delicious just scooped into bowls and served with a biscuit on the side. Hope this helps!
Choclette
Ooh what fun. I’ve never made an ice cream pie, but if I was going to it would have to be your halva one – stroke of genius.
Helen
Thanks Choclette! It’s a great dessert when you don’t have a lot of time. Or if you just love halva a lot!
Desicart
This look so fresh and delicious.Thank you so much for the recipe!
Helen
Thanks! It is!!
Sue
Everyone loves a good ice cream pie, and this one looks so easy! I’ll have to give it a try!
Helen
Thanks Sue. I hope you enjoy it.
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
I thought that the topping was shredded chicken, but this is so much better! This looks amazing, and thank you for the information about halva! I have never heard of it before, but now I am so curious!
Helen
Lol! I guess it does look a bit chickeny! Totally vegan though and much more delicious 😋
Chef Mireille
WOW – talk about fusion. This sounds so good. I am definitely going to look out for these ingredients so I can try this delicious pie.
Helen
Thanks! It’s very delicious and the ingredients are quite easy to come by – at least here in the UK.
Alexandra
I love halva and I love ice cream – this was my first time combining the two. Absolutely delicious!
Helen
Glad you enjoyed it! They are some of our favourite things too
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
Now this sounds like a dessert I need to try! It sounds delicious and I love that it is so quick and easy to make
Helen
Thanks Bintu! It’s a great one when you don’t have much time.