The Legendary Restaurant Finale: Hot Semolina Halva Bursting with Ice Cream

The moment a spoon breaks through this restaurant-style semolina halva, cold ice cream spills from the center. The outside carries the rich aroma of butter, while the filling delivers a sharp hot-and-cold contrast.

The recipe’s key points are simple: prepare the syrup with milk, and toast the semolina slowly. The ingredients include 1.5 cups of semolina, 100 grams of butter and three tablespoons of pine nuts. The syrup uses 1.5 cups each of water, milk and granulated sugar, although the sugar can be reduced to one cup.

Warm the water, milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves, but do not let the mixture boil. Separately, melt the butter, sauté the pine nuts until lightly golden, then add the semolina. Cook it over very low heat, stirring constantly for about 20 to 25 minutes, until it turns from golden yellow to light brown and releases its characteristic aroma.

Pour in the warm syrup carefully, as it may splatter. Cook until the semolina absorbs the liquid, then cover the pan and let the halva rest for about 15 minutes. To create the filling, press warm halva into a plastic-lined bowl, place Maraş ice cream in the hollow, cover it with more halva and turn it onto a serving plate. Serve immediately while the halva is still steaming and the hot-cold contrast remains intact.