I have to admit, I'm a very picky brownie eater.  If it doesn't taste good and not worth the calories, I'll take a bite and throw the rest away.  For me, brownies should be moist, chewy, not too sweet and taste like good chocolate.  These halvah mocha brownies fit that bill.  This is a delicious brownie recipe.  These brownies are unusual as they are made with almond flour and sourdough starter.  There is no added all-purpose flour so it's actually a high protein brownie with the sesame seed paste (tahini) from the halvah and the almond flour with lower carbs!

Tips for making halvah mocha almond flour brownies

Halvah.

Halvah is a soft, fudgelike Middle-eastern / Mediterranean sweet treat made from sesame paste (tahini).  If you don't want to make low-sugar homemade halvah (which is very easy), it can be bought at Middle-eastern stores.  Choose a flavor and texture that will go well with a mocha flavored brownie.  The halvah is just added to the top of the brownies but can be incorporated into the batter.  Crumble or cube the halvah and sprinkle it onto the brownie batter just before baking.

Sourdough Starter.

Sourdough starter is used instead of baking soda or baking powder as another form of leavening.  The sourdough starter should be active: light and airy.  If the sourdough starter is not light and airy, but dense and hard to incorporate into the batter, the brownie will have chunks of sourdough starter dispersed throughout the brownie!

Mocha.

The flavor of mocha comes from the combination of chocolate and coffee.  It is moist, gooey and the combination of chocolate chips with cocoa powder give these brownies a delicious cholatey taste.  

Butter and chocolate chips are melted and then stirred to a smooth viscous texture. 

The added coffee enhances the taste of the chocolate flavor and adds a different dimension to the chocolate taste.  The mocha flavor comes from instant coffee granules. If a lower caffeine brownie is needed, the instant coffee granules can be eliminated or replaced with non-coffeinated coffee granules.

Almond Flour.

Almond flour is used instead of regular wheat flour.  This makes the brownies gluten-free except for the sourdough starter.  The almond flour substitution also lowers the carbs and increases the protein.  Blanched almond flour tends to be lighter in color than natural almond flour as the brown skins of the almonds are removed.

Sieve the almond flour to prevent lumps in the batter.

Egg mixture.

In order to get a good rise from the brownie batter, the eggs combined with the sugars need to be mixed well and create "volume".  When the beaten eggs are light and voluminous, (this may take up to 10 minutes), the melted chocolate, sourdough starter and almond flour is ready to be folded into the egg mixture.

Without using any baking soda or baking powder but just the sourdough starter and voluminous egg mixture as the leavening, these brownies are light and absolutely delicious.