Süt Helvası (Milk Helva) Recipe
We have a very easy and delicious dessert from Bursa cuisine today; süt helvası, milk helva in other words. Bursa is one the most beautiful cities of Turkey. It is mostly known for it Iskender döner and kofte with pide. Süt helvası is another famous dish from Bursa. To summarize, we can call it a kind of baked custard. Although it sounds like a very simple thing, that baking process takes the custard up to a completely different level with the ground hazelnuts sprinkled over while serving.
The original of the recipe has no orange peel and cinnamon, the two are my comments. I wanted to make a Spanish touch. You can remove them if you wish. But if you trust my taste, do not remove them. Flavoring milk with orange and / or lemon peels and cinnamon stick is a common thing in Spanish cuisine. For a good example, you can check out the crema catalana recipe. It is also possible to see the same method in Portuguese cuisine, as in pastel and nata.
Baking Process
There are a few things you should pay attention while baking the dessert. Ramekins should not spend too much time in the oven in order to prevent drying. Therefore, you must fully heat the oven beforehand. If available, set your oven to the grill setting. Otherwise, you can use the upper-lower setting. Place the oven wire on the top shelf of the oven and place the desserts on the wire and bake them observing through the window (since they will burn in a very short time) and remove immediately when you see that they are burned enough.
Serving
You can serve your desserts warm or cold. Ground hazelnuts dgo very well with them. But if you don't have hazelnuts or if you can't consume it for allergic reasons, you can also use pistachios, walnuts, almonds or grated coconut. Of course, it is also possible to serve them without anything.
Enjoy the recipe...
Ingredients
- 3 cups of milk,
- 1/2 cup flour,
- 1/2 cup sugar,
- 2 spoonful butter,
- 1 piece of orange peel,
- 1 cinnamon stick,
- Ground hazelnuts for serving.
Preparation
- Melt the butter in a sauce pan,
- Add flour and stir fry until it smells roasted,
- Slowly add a cup of milk and whip it very quickly,
- Beat well until you get a homogeneous mixture,
- Add the remaining milk, orange peel and cinnamon and cook until it thickens, stirring constantly,
- Take the orange peel and cinnamon out,
- If there is lumps, smooth it with an immersion blender,
- Share the mixture into 4 small ramekins,
- Place them on the upper shelf of the preheated oven at 200 C degrees at grill setting and bake until the tops burn in the desired amount,
- Sprinkle hazelnuts over while serving.
Bon Appetit...