Bene Balls

Toasted bene (sesame) seeds bound in hot molasses and sugar syrup and rolled into small, chewy-crunchy balls. Press the mixture flat instead for bene sticks.

Desserts and Sweet Treats

  • 50 min est.
  • Serves 20
  • Medium

Bene balls are a small, old-fashioned Trinidad and Tobago sweet: toasted sesame seeds, known locally as bene, stirred into a dark syrup of sugar and molasses and shaped into balls while still warm.

The same mixture makes bene sticks. Instead of rolling balls, press it flat in a tray and cut it into sticks before it hardens.

Sugar syrup at this stage is extremely hot. Let the mixture cool for a minute before shaping, use oiled spoons or oiled hands, and keep children well back.

The recipe

Bene Balls

Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Cooling
20 min
Total
50 min
Serves
20
Makes
About 20 balls

Times and quantities are our best estimates. This recipe is still being kitchen-tested, so trust your eyes and taste as you go.

Ingredients

Tick items off as you gather them.

Method

Toast the seeds

  1. Toast the bene seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring all the time, until golden and fragrant. Tip onto a plate.

Cook the syrup

  1. Oil a tray or a sheet of baking paper.
  2. Put the sugar, molasses and water in a small heavy pot over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Boil without stirring for 5 to 8 minutes, until it reaches the hard-ball stage, 250 to 265°F (121 to 129°C): a drop in cold water forms a firm ball.
  3. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the seeds, ginger and salt until coated.

Shape

  1. Let the mixture cool for 1 to 2 minutes, until you can handle it. Using an oiled spoon and oiled hands, roll small balls about 1 inch (2.5 cm) across and set them on the tray. Work quickly; if it hardens, warm it gently over low heat.
  2. Leave to cool and harden for 20 minutes.

Serve it with

  • As a sweet on its own, or with coffee

Substitutions

  • Bene sticks: tip the mixture onto the oiled tray, press it flat about ½ inch (1 cm) thick with an oiled spatula, and cut into sticks with an oiled knife while still warm.
  • Crunchier: cook the syrup to 300°F (150°C), the hard-crack stage, for brittle bene sticks.
  • Molasses: use more brown sugar and 2 more tbsp water instead.

Storing and reheating

  • Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. In humid weather, separate layers with baking paper.

Cook's notes

  • A sugar thermometer makes this much easier; without one, use the cold-water test.
  • If the balls are sticky after cooling, the syrup did not cook long enough.

https://trinbagorecipes.com/recipes/bene-balls/

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