White Chocolate, Pistachio and Halva Rugelach

How do you explain to a French person who’s used to eating Croissants what “Rugelach” is? You don’t explain! You simply let them taste it.

When we brought Pierre Hermé to Israel a few months ago for the filming of “The Perfect Dessert” (which aired on April 15th), Pierre and his wife Valérie tasted a variety of local ingredients, local dishes, and of course, rugelach. When we returned, I promised them that in the near future I will prepare them homemade rugelach.

During our stay in Israel for the filming of the show, we stayed at the lovely “Norman” hotel, and a wonderful connection was formed between us and the hotel’s CEO, Yaron Liberman, and the hotel’s chefs, which continues to this day. When we visited Israel in February, Liberman invited us to stay at the hotel and together with the chefs and pastry team, we filmed the preparation of the famous rugelach served in the hotel’s delightful breakfast.

The classic rugalach was replaced with a wonderful variation of white chocolate, pistachios, and halva filling, and of course, it is great for any day and perfect for Independence Day. I love making many small rugelach, arranging them tightly on a rectangular tray, and letting each person pull off as much as they want 🙂

White Chocolate, Pistachio and Halva Rugelach
40 rugelach, depends on the size
Recipe video inside

Ingredients
Dough:
250g all-purpose flour 
6g dry yeast
30g sugar
40g egg
125g milk
80g soft butter, cubed
6g salt

Filling:
50g heavy whipping cream
120g white chocolate, chopped
10g corn starch, sifted
80g pistachio paste
80g halva flakes
5g salt

Brushing:
1 egg + 2 tbsp milk – mixed together

Syrup:
150g sugar
150g water

Preparation
1. In a large mixing bowl, place flour and yeast and mix. Add sugar and continue to mix.
2. Add the egg and mix, while gradually adding milk, butter, and salt.
3. Mix the dough for about 4 minutes on low speed, then increase the speed slightly and knead for about 20 minutes. Stop kneading when the dough detaches from the bowl.
4. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a floured bowl, and cover with a kitchen towel. Let it rise for about 2 hours in the refrigerator.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: heat the heavy cream until boiling, pour it over the chocolate, wait a few seconds and then mix. Add sifted corn starch, mix, and set aside.

Assembly
6. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and transfer it to a floured work surface. Gently knead the dough until the air is released from it, and roll it into a relatively thin large rectangle.
7. Spread the mixture of white chocolate on two-thirds of the rectangle, and add pistachio paste over the chocolate. Using a spatula, spread the pistachio paste and sprinkle evenly with halva flakes and salt.
8. Fold the dough as follows: Fold the one-third of the dough without any filling over the middle third, and fold the remaining one-third with the filling over the folded dough (see picture).
9. Roll out the dough into a rectangle 26 cm (width) and 4 mm thick, and cut the rectangle into two narrower rectangles, each 13 cm (width).
10. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut equilateral triangles from each rectangle, with a height of 13 cm and a base width of 6 cm.
11. Roll up each triangle from the wide end to the narrow end to form rugelach. Arrange them on a rectangular baking tray (23X30cm) lined with parchment paper. Cover with a kitchen towel and let them rise for about 25-30 minutes.
12. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (preferably convection).
13. Brush the rugelach with a mixture of beaten egg and milk, and bake for about 15-20 minutes until the rugelach are puffed and golden brown.
14. While the rugelach are baking, prepare the syrup: In a small saucepan, heat sugar and water until boiling. Remove the rugelach from the oven and brush them with the syrup.

Bon-Appétit
Sharon