Five traditional Egyptian desserts you must try

Everyone loves a good dessert. If you have a sweet tooth, you must try Egyptian desserts. Egyptian desserts can be enjoyed all year round, but they are popular around Ramadan when sweets vendors at every corner of the street have their supplies in abundance.

There are indigenous Egyptian desserts while others have a special touch added. Some of these desserts can be found across the world at the supermarkets but they don’t taste like the ones sold on the streets in Egypt.

Yes, the following desserts are high in calories because they are mostly made with lots of sugar and other natural ingredients, but a little treat never hurt anyone.

Basbousa

Basbousa is one of Egypt’s most popular desserts. It is a semolina sweet cake that is usually served with yogurt to break even out the sweetness and garnished with almonds. It is sometimes called Harissa and the main ingredient is semolina with ghee, sugar, and milk and it has a spicy kick to it.

Kahk

Kahk is a cookies-based Eid favorite dessert that is made with shortbread stuffed with dates and walnuts topped with icing sugar. You can alternatively have them without any stuffing. Legend has it that the recipe for Kahk was discovered at the Great Pyramid of Giza and they were in different shapes with the stamp of the sun god Ra on them. To date, it is a vital part of Egyptian culture.

Baklava

Baklava is very popular in the Middle East and the Levant and its roots go as far back as the Ottoman Empire. The Caucasus, Balkans, Greece, and Central Asia also have their variations of baklava. It is not the easiest dessert to make because the pastry layers are bound by syrup and they are filled with nuts.

Konafa

Konafa is like baklava but the stuffing differs from region to region and it’s eaten across the Arab world. It is made with pastry strands filed with cream or cheese soaked in syrup usually stuffed with nuts. It is an ancient dessert dating back to the Fatimids in the 10^th century.

Lokmet el Kadi

Lokmet el Kadi means “the judge’s bite.” The story surrounding this dessert has it that it was invented when a judge ordered his cook to make him a quick and easy treat. Its recipes can be found in Abbasid Caliphate cookbooks dating as far as the 13th century. 

This easy to make dessert is a very common street food made with flour, yeast, and other condiments. They come out resembling doughnuts drenched in syrup but can be eaten plain as well.