Sweet dishes of Egypt are a test for gourmets. The abundance of different desserts makes you salivate, and there is only one way out: try them all.
Halva is a favorite sweet. In Egypt, halva is made from sesame seeds and crushed pistachios, almonds or pine nuts are added to it. Halva is one of the few products that is stored well even in hot climates. We are used to perceiving halva as an independent dessert, but the Egyptians use it to prepare another sweet dish – salakan. For this, halva is mixed with honey and whipped cream.
Kunafa is a dish resembling a casserole made of very thin pasta. In fact, this is not pasta, but kadayif dough, dried in the form of thin threads. The filling for kunafa is made from nuts and whipped cream.
Basbousa is a semolina pie. Golden squares of basbousa are decorated with nuts.
Ka’kat is a soft and fluffy squiggle-shaped bagel sprinkled with sesame seeds. It smells special because mahleb, ground wild cherry kernels, is added to the dough. Their aroma is a bit reminiscent of almonds and deceives the taste buds well: the bagel seems sweet, although there is almost no sugar in the dough.
Umm-Ali is a dessert made of puff pastry with a filling of coconut, raisins and almonds. The products are placed in a mold, poured with hot milk and baked. This sweet is often compared to tiramisu.
Hegazeya is a pie with a filling of semolina and nuts. It smells incredibly sweet because cinnamon is added to the filling, but it does not taste sweet, so honey is often served with the pie.