Un Helvası, or Turkish Flour Halva, is made with just four ingredients: flour, butter, sugar and milk. It’s the easiest Turkish dessert you can make, with one pan and about fifty minutes of stirring. In Turkey it’s made for funerals, religious days and special occasions.
Families cook it in big batches and send plates of it round to the neighbors. I add pine nuts to mine, and I usually eat it warm, with a glass of Turkish Tea.
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I make helva on days when there’s no time to cook anything else. Swap the butter for oil and the milk for water, and it’s vegan and dairy free. I add pine nuts to mine, and I usually eat it warm, with a glass of tea.
What Is Un Helvası?
Un helvası is flour cooked in butter until it turns golden, then mixed with a sugar syrup until it comes together into a soft paste. Helva is the Turkish name for a whole group of sweets, and un means flour.
Irmik Helvasi is the semolina version, and tahini helva is the one sold in blocks. You serve un helvası warm in small spoonfuls, or press it into a dish and cut it into squares.
The ratios change from recipe to recipe, and the biggest difference is the butter. Mine uses slightly more than most, and I wouldn't cut it back.
Why This Recipe Works
- There’s no baking. It all happens in one pan on the stove.
- Flour, butter, sugar and milk are all cupboard staples, so there’s nothing to shop for.
- You can make it even on days when there is no time to cook.
- It takes fifty minutes from start to finish, and most of that is stirring.
- It’s very hard to get wrong as long as you keep stirring.
- Use oil instead of the butter and water instead of the milk, and it's vegan and dairy free.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- All-purpose flour - I use plain all-purpose flour. I would not use whole wheat or bread flour here.
- Butter - I use unsalted butter. It is where the flavor comes from, so use a good one.
- Sugar - I use granulated sugar. Superfine sugar works the same way.
- Milk - I use whole milk, but reduced fat works too. Some Turkish recipes use water instead, if you want it dairy free.
- Pine nuts - They are the traditional choice for making halva. Walnuts or pistachios are fine if pine nuts are hard to find.
How to Make Un Helvası?
Prepare the Syrup
Put the sugar and milk in a small pot. Heat it over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the sugar has dissolved.
Turn off the heat and leave the syrup to cool a little. Make it first so it can cool down, then get on with the flour.
Roast the Flour
Melt the butter in a large pan over low heat. Sift in the flour a little at a time, add the pine nuts, and stir as you go.
Roast on low to medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring so it does not burn.
After 15 to 20 minutes the flour turns golden brown and smells nutty. Wait for that color and that smell, because if you stop too early the flavor is bland.
Add the Syrup
The mixture will bubble up when the syrup goes in, so keep the heat low and pour slowly.
Pour the warm syrup into the roasted flour a little at a time, stirring the whole time.
Keep stirring until it thickens and comes together. The flour takes up all the liquid and the halva starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Take it off the heat, put the lid on, and leave it to rest for five to ten minutes. It should be soft but firm enough to hold its shape on a spoon.
Recipe Tips From the Chef
- Roast the flour slowly. If you stop before it turns golden brown the halva tastes of raw flour.
- Pine nuts go in with the flour so they toast at the same time.
- Let the syrup cool a little before it goes in, and pour it slowly. It bubbles up hard if you rush it.
- Stir the whole time after the syrup goes in, or it will not come out smooth.
- Take the sugar down a little if you want it less sweet, or add a spoon or two if you like it sweeter.
- Do not reduce the butter. The helva comes out lumpy with less fat.
- Rest it covered off the heat for five to ten minutes before you shape it.
- Shape it warm. It firms up as it cools and gets harder to work with.
Shaping and Serving Un Helvası
Shape it with two spoons into small mounds when it is still warm, or spread it into a shallow dish and smooth the top. If you spread it, let it cool for ten to fifteen minutes and cut it into squares or diamonds.
For a bit more flavor, add a pinch of cinnamon or a splash of vanilla before you shape it.
I usually serve flour halva warm with a scoop of Turkish Ice Cream or a spoonful of Kaymak. It goes with a glass of Turkish tea or a cup of Salep.
Variations
- Use oil instead of the butter and water instead of the milk, and it's vegan and dairy free.
- Stir a tablespoon of tahini in with the flour for a deeper flavor.
- Melt a handful of dark chocolate into the pan as the syrup goes in for a chocolate version.
- Roll the cooled halva into walnut sized balls and coat them in ground pistachio to make un helvası lokumu.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Un helvası keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for three to four days, and up to a week in the fridge. It firms up as it sits, so take it out of the fridge an hour before serving, or warm it through for a few seconds.
It tastes best on the day you make it. You can make the syrup ahead and keep it in the fridge, then roast the flour when you want to serve it.
Un Helvası vs Irmik Helvası
The two are made the same way, with the same butter and syrup. Un helvası uses flour, so it comes out smooth and paste-like.
Irmik helvası uses semolina instead, and it stays grainy and holds its shape better. You serve both warm, and both get made for the same occasions.
Why Un Helvası Is Made for Funerals
In Turkey, we make un helvası after funerals, on religious days, and at big family occasions. After a funeral, the family serves it to everyone who comes to the house. The rest of the year it's an everyday dessert, and I make it whenever I feel like it.
Recipe FAQs
Lumps form when the syrup goes in faster than you can stir it through, and they are very hard to get out afterwards. Unsifted flour causes the same problem.
The flour was not roasted long enough. It needs 15 to 20 minutes on low to medium heat, until it is golden brown and smells nutty. Go by the color rather than the clock.
Yes. Some Turkish recipes use water, some use milk, and some mix the two. They all work, so go with whichever you prefer.
That usually means not enough fat. With less butter the helva comes out lumpy and dry, so keep the amount as written.
Related Recipes
More Turkish desserts to try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below, tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram, and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious Un Helvası - Turkish Flour Halva as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
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Un Helvası
Ingredients
- 8 oz all-purpose flour 230 g
- 2 sticks butter or 1 cup ghee 230 g - 8 oz
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 300 g - 10 ½ oz
- 1 ½ cups whole milk or reduced fat milk 360 ml - 12 fl oz
- ¼ cup pine nuts 20 g - ¾ oz
Instructions
Prepare the Syrup
- Put the sugar and milk in a small pot. Heat it over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn off the heat and leave the syrup to cool a little. Make it first so it can cool down, then get on with the flour.
Roast the Flour
- Melt the butter in a large pan over low heat.
- Sift in the flour a little at a time, add the pine nuts, and stir as you go.
- Roast on low to medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring so it does not burn.
- After 15 to 20 minutes the flour turns golden brown and smells nutty. Wait for that color and that smell, because if you stop too early the flavor is bland.
Add the Syrup
- The mixture will bubble up when the syrup goes in, so keep the heat low and pour slowly.
- Pour the warm syrup into the roasted flour a little at a time, stirring the whole time.
- Keep stirring until it thickens and comes together. The flour takes up all the liquid and the halva starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Take it off the heat, put the lid on, and leave it to rest for five to ten minutes. It should be soft but firm enough to hold its shape on a spoon.
- Shape it into small mounds with two spoons when it is still warm, or spread it into a shallow dish and cut it into squares once it has cooled.
Notes
- Roast the flour slowly, 15 to 20 minutes on low to medium heat, until it is golden brown and smells nutty. Stopping early leaves it tasting of raw flour.
- Sift the flour into the butter so it does not go lumpy.
- Pine nuts go in with the flour so they toast at the same time.
- Let the syrup cool a little before it goes in, and pour it slowly. It bubbles up hard if you rush it.
- Stir the whole time after the syrup goes in.
- Do not reduce the butter. The helva comes out lumpy and dry with less fat.
- Rest it covered off the heat for five to ten minutes before shaping.
- Shape it warm, with two spoons, or spread it in a dish and cut it into squares once cool.
- Take the sugar down a little if you want it less sweet, or add a spoon or two if you like it sweeter.
- Swaps: oil for the butter and water for the milk makes it dairy free and vegan. Margarine works in place of butter. Walnuts or pistachios work in place of pine nuts.
- Storage: airtight at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, or up to a week in the fridge. Take it out of the fridge an hour before serving, or warm it through for a few seconds.
- Vegetarian as written. Not dairy free unless you swap the butter and the milk.
Sara Giles says
Fantastic recipe as usual! Thank you for sharing.