Sheki Halva (Layered Rice-Hazelnut Pastry)

Nov 3, 2026 · By VanillaGoods

Baking Pastries doughnuts Medium

Sheki Halva (Layered Rice-Hazelnut Pastry)

Thin rice-flour pastry rounds are stacked with spiced hazelnut filling and soaked in saffron-honey syrup. This is our home adaptation of the Sheki original, which is made by hand with a long, specialized technique. Makes 12 stacks in about 9 hr 30 min.

Prep 60 min

Cook 30 min

Cooling 8 hr

Total 9 hr 30 min

Yield 12 stacks

Ingredients

Adjust yield

stacks

1 ⅔ cups (200 g)rice flour
6 tbsp (50 g)tapioca starch
1 (18 g)egg yolk
⅔ cup (150 ml)boiling water
1 tbsp (15 ml)neutral oil
1 pinchsalt
1 ⅔ cups (200 g)hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and finely ground
½ cup (100 g)granulated sugar, for the filling
¾ tsp (2 g)ground cardamom
¼ oz (1 g)ground coriander
3 tbsp (40 g)unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup (150 g)granulated sugar, for the syrup
3 tbsp (60 g)honey
½ cup (120 ml)water
1 pinchsaffron threads, steeped in 1 tbsp warm water

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Instructions

Stir the rice flour, tapioca starch and salt together. Mix the egg yolk and oil into the boiling water and pour it into the flour. Stir with a spoon until a shaggy dough forms, then knead while warm until smooth, about 3 minutes. Cover for 10 minutes.
Mix the ground hazelnuts, sugar, cardamom, coriander and melted butter to make a damp, crumbly filling.
Heat the oven to 350 F (180 C) and line two baking sheets with parchment. Roll out a quarter of the dough between two sheets of parchment as thin as you can, about 1.5 mm, dusting with tapioca starch if needed. Cut 7-cm (2.75-inch) rounds; you need 36 in all.
Bake the rounds in a single layer 8 to 10 minutes, until dry and set but still pale. Cool on a rack.
Assemble 12 stacks on a baking sheet: a round, 1 tablespoon filling pressed flat, another round, more filling, and a final round on top.
Bring the syrup sugar, honey and water to a boil, simmer gently 5 minutes without stirring, then stir in the saffron water. Cool to warm.
Brush each stack generously with warm syrup, allowing it to soak in, then repeat. Cover loosely and rest at room temperature at least 8 hours so the layers soften and bind.

Tips

Roll thin; the layers should be crisp-edged before they soak.
Cool the syrup to warm so it soaks in instead of running off.
The resting time is part of the recipe: the stack tastes best the next day.
Hot syrup causes serious burns: cool it to warm before brushing.

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Recipe FAQ

How long does it take to make sheki halva (layered rice-hazelnut pastry)?

Plan on 60 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, plus 8 hours to chill. The recipe makes 12 stacks.

How should I store sheki halva (layered rice-hazelnut pastry)?

Store covered at room temperature up to 4 days.

Can I make sheki halva (layered rice-hazelnut pastry) ahead?

Yes. It needs time to chill and set, so it is a good one to make the day before you serve it.

A layered rice-dough pastry from Sheki in northwestern Azerbaijan, filled with hazelnuts and spices and finished with honey and sugar syrup. Serve it with strong black tea.

Estimated · per serving

Nutrition

Per serving = 1 of 12 servings this recipe makes.

211 Calories / serving

4.5g Fat

42.1g Carbs

1.3g Protein

25.1g Sugar

Whole recipe (12 servings): ~2532 cal · 54g fat · 505g carbs · 16g protein · 301g sugar

Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.