This Sesame Candy recipe is a simple, traditional Greek sweet with a naturally chewy texture and warm, toasty flavour. Made from just two ingredients, sesame seeds and honey, it’s a nourishing little treat that comes together quickly with little hands-on time required.
Aside from being a delicious snack, it makes great edible gift packs for the holiday season, and it’s great for adding to charcuterie boards or party platters too.
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Recipe Overview: Honey and Sesame Candy
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Nutritional Benefits
Rooted in Ancient Greek tradition, Pasteli is both a delicious and nutrient-dense sweet treat. It’s also a wonderful, synergistic combination of ingredients. The honey contains antioxidants, polyphenols, and flavonoids while sesame seeds provide essential fiber, healthy fats, and lignans like sesamin. Making your own will give you a much more nourishing alternative to store-bought varieties too given many brands replace the traditional honey with a cheaper alternative like glucose syrup or high fructose corn syrup.
Key Ingredients
The two basic ingredients in this recipe are really all you need. Extras like orange or lemon zest, a pinch of salt, or even a drizzle of rose water give you infinite possibilities on the flavour front though these are optional inclusions.
- White sesame seeds – add the predominant flavor and texture in these sesame candies. Their natural oils add a richer mouthfeel too, which balances the intense sweetness of the honey.
- Honey – the sweetener in this recipe though it’s also needed to set the sesame seeds.
- Orange or lemon zest – this is optional, but it adds a delicious hint of citrus to the bars once they’re cooled.
- Sea salt – just a tiny pinch is all that’s needed. It helps balance out the sweetness in the honey and bring out the nuttiness of the sesame seeds.
A touch of olive oil is also used to grease the parchment paper lining the trays. It’s not essential this is done though removing the sesame bars from the paper is much easier if it is.
Substitutions And Variations
Add some of this Mandarin Peel Powder in place of the lemon or orange zest for some citrus tang.
Rice malt syrup could make a good substitute for the honey if you want to make this recipe vegan. Please note however, that I have not tested this as yet.
Add chopped or whole nuts to the honey sesame mixture to add extra crunch. Simply include them when you add the sesame seeds back into the hot honey.
The traditional recipe for sesame candies like these results in a more soft and chewy texture. Some recipe may include white or brown sugar to create more of a crunch however; this really isn’t needed. You can make it crunchy or crispy by spreading the mixture out very thinly and refrigerating for an hour or so.
How To Make This Sesame Candy (Pasteli)
The flavor of sesame seeds shines through in these sweet treats, giving them a warm, nutty base. The honey is there to add sweetness; however, it also helps the mixture hold together. It’s important that the honey gets to that foamy stage as it heats, as this is what ensures it will set when left to cool.
- Step 1: Line an 11×9-inch (28x23cm) tray with parchment paper making sure it stretches up the sides of the pan. Grease well with olive oil.
- Step 2: Heat a large frying pan or skillet over a medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and toast over until they’re golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.
- Step 3: Pour the honey into the same skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Step 4: Let the honey come to a boil so it looks foamy in the pan, about 3-4 minutes.
- Step 5: Once boiled, pour the toasted sesame seeds into the hot honey and stir well to ensure it’s all combined. If using the lemon zest and salt, stir these in now too. It should have quite a thick consistency.
- Step 6: Spread the honey sesame mix onto the prepared pan and spread into a thin layer with a wet wooden spoon. Set aside to cool for 20-30 minutes at room temperature then slice into squares with a sharp knife.
Once cooled the honey sesame candy will be soft and pliable. It’s delicious like this, but my preference is to pop it in the fridge for 5-10 mins. It gets a small amount of crunch in this time, which I think gives it the perfect texture.
And if you have lots of honey leftover don’t let it go to waste! It can be used in things like this honey fermented garlic, honey fermented fruit, or used in place of sugar in preserves like this strawberry and honey jam.
Expert Tips
- Don’t burn the honey! It’s important that the honey foams so it will set once cooled. However, keep an eye on it and ensure it’s not sitting over a very high heat. Burnt honey will make these sesame bars taste very bitter.
- Make sure you’re toasting the sesame seeds in a large pan. You want enough room to swirl or stir them around and allow them to toast rather than burn. Just note they will burn very easily so don’t step away from the stove while they’re toasting.
- While this recipe does not need to be refrigerated to set, I think it’s at it’s best when it’s been chilled.
- If your jar of honey is crystalized when opened, don’t let it go to waste! While it won’t work in this recipe make this delicious creamed honey recipe with it instead.
Storage Tips
Store any leftovers in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper so the bars don’t stick together. They will get slightly firmer in the fridge so if you prefer them soft, let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
Honey and Sesame Candy FAQs
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Honey And Sesame Candy (Pasteli Recipe)
Equipment
- 1 Large skillet or French sauté pan
- Baking/Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup white sesame seeds
- ¾ cup honey
- 2 tsp orange or lemon zest (optional)
- Pinch of salt (optional)
- Olive oil for greasing the pan
Instructions
- Line an 11×9-inch (28x23cm) baking sheet or tray with parchment paper making sure it stretches up the sides of the pan.
- Lightly grease the paper by using a pastry brush to coat it with olive oil. This will ensure the honey and sesame mix doesn't stick to it.
- Heat a large frying pan or skillet over a medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and toast over until they're golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and tip them onto a plate. Set aside for now.
- Pour the honey into the same skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the honey come to a boil so it looks foamy in the pan, about 3-4 minutes (see note 1).
- Once it's boiled, pour the toasted sesame seeds into the hot honey and stir well to ensure it's all combined. If using the lemon zest and salt, stir these in now too. The mixture should have quite a thick consistency.
- Pour the honey sesame mix onto the prepared pan and spread into a thin layer with a wet wooden spoon.
- Place another oiled sheet of parchment paper over the top and roll over it with the base of a glass. This helps to flatten out the top and make it even.
- Set aside to cool for 20-30 minutes at room temperature then slice with a sharp knife into any shape you like. Small squares, rectangles or diamonds all look good.
- You can enjoy the sesame candy as-is or place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes so it's slightly more firm.
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Notes
Nutrition
Gabby Campbell
Gabby is a degree qualified Naturopath/Nutritionist (BHSc Nat) with a love of all whole foods. She started her Naturopathic career in clinical practice before making the move to recipe development and online education – a result of wanting to combat the misinformation that abounds on the internet about food and health. Whole Natural Kitchen aims to transform the way you think about healthy eating by helping you embrace an abundance of nutritious foods while leaving the health fads behind. MORE ABOUT GABBY
This delicious sweet treat is a real crowd pleaser! I’m always asked to bring it along for get togethers and it disappears in minutes.