This mini cheesecake recipe features a special Maltese Ingredient – Helwa tat-Tork. Helwa tat-Tork is a traditional type of candy found in Malta. It’s made by mixing tahini (sesame paste) with water, vanilla, and sugar or honey. Although this delectable traditional Maltese sweet is a favorite among most locals, there are a few who find it too sweet.
The literal translation for Helwa tat-Tork in English would be ‘Turkish Sweet’. Yet the proper name for this is ‘Turkish Hava’ or ‘Tahini Halva’. To make things even more confusing, you can also find this written as Helva, Halvah, and Halwa.

As the name implies, the dessert isn’t exactly a Maltese invention. Probably, the Arabs imported the sweet to Malta while we were under their rule. Additionally, It’s a very popular treat in Middle Eastern countries. One thing is for sure – we love this sweet around here and it’s here to stay as our own!
I must confess that I’m completely obsessed with anything Helwa tat-Tork related. It’s extremely hard for me to go to the supermarket, without returning with a box of sesame halva, it’s simply divine. I also find it very difficult to cut a small cube and enjoy a normal, controlled portion. Any time there’s Helwa tat-Tork in my fridge, it’s very likely that it will be gone within a day or two!

As if my Helwa tat-tork obsession wasn’t enough, my aunt made matters even worse. She turned up for a BBQ with the most delicious cheesecake in the history of cheesecakes. Yes, A Helwa tat-Tork Cheesecake that was insanely mouth-watering. The graham cracker crust was nutty and rich. The cheesecake filling was smooth and creamy. I helped myself to 3 slices and dreamt of it at night. Ok, maybe the ‘dreamt of it part’ was not true, but you get my drift.
As the number one fan of Helwa tat-Tork, I obviously HAD TO create my own healthy version of the cheesecake. I wanted something with a similar refreshing flavour, that tastes like ‘helwa tat tork ice cream’. Basically, this recipe is a bid to not overdose myself on sugar, when craving something sweet (always). Hence the ‘mini cheesecakes’ and single-serving portions.

What’s inside this Mini Cheesecakes Recipe?
These Mini cheesecakes feature a tasteful blend of nuts, cocoa, yogurt, and the star of the show – plenty of tahini. The sesame paste is quite calorie-dense, yet very nutritious. It’s very similar to nuts in terms of nutritional profile and is rich in antioxidants. The sweetness in the cheesecakes comes from a small amount of sweetener, 2 tablespoons of agave, and plenty of dried fruits.
They’re incredibly simple to make. Similar to most of my other dessert recipes, the only tool you’ll require is a food processor. All you need to do is process the base ingredients and place the mixture in silicone muffin molds. After that, you mix the ‘cheesecake filling’ ingredients and pour these onto the base.
Finally, you just freeze the mini cheesecakes for a couple of hours. You’ll have a batch of 15 cheesecakes, to enjoy throughout the week. Before serving, let the cheesecakes set at room temperature for around 5 minutes.

Spoiler alert: these no-bake mini cheesecakes don’t contain any ‘actual’ Helwa tat-Tork or Helwa tat-Tork pieces. I’m sparing you all the extra sugar! However, you’ll never be able to tell. They’re packed with 150g of Tahini which gives the cheesecakes a strong ‘Helwa tat-Tork’ flavour.

The Ultimate Mini Cheesecake Recipe with a Surprising Flavour
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Silicone Cupcake Molds
Ingredients
Base Ingredients
- 60 g Oats
- 10 g Chia Seeds
- 5 g Flax Seeds
- 25 g Mixed Nuts
- 25 g Melted Dark Chocolate
- 90 g Dates
- 10 g Cocoa
- 25 g Agave syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- Pinch Salt
Filling Ingredients
- 400 g Dairy Free Yogurt
- 20 g Agave or Date Syrup
- 150 g Tahini use a liquid-y type
- 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
- 40 g Powdered Sweetener such as Erythritol
Instructions
Prepare the base
- In a microwave safe bowl, add in chocolate and agave, and microwave until melted.
- Add all the remaining ‘base ingredients’ to a food processor and pulse until combined.
- Mix-in the chocolate and agave to the rest of the processed ingredients and pulse again until you obtain the consistency of a dough.
- Divide the mixture into 15 small balls and press into the bottom of a silicone muffin mold, about 2 cm high.
Prepare the filling
- To prepare the filling, add all the ‘filling’ ingredients into the bowl of your food processor and leave on for a few seconds to ensure they’re well combined.
- Pour the yogurt tahini mixture over the previously prepared bases.
- Freeze for around 2 hours until the cheesecakes harden.
Video
Notes
If you use My Fitness Pal to log your food, you can find this recipe listed on the database as ‘The Healthy Malteser Helwa tat-Tork Mini Cheesecakes’ .
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