Ramadan and the lead up to it have been the busiest time for us. We posted 10 recipes in June and this is the 9th recipe in July. That is four months’ worth of recipes based on the average number of recipes we post per month. Yet, we still believe we could have done more. We have so many recipes we would like to share with you, foods we feel guilty enjoying without sharing their recipes.

Maamoul and Eid are inseparable and, for many, Eid is not complete without it. For Christians in the Middle East, maamoul is a pastry that is associated with Easter. Our target was to post this recipe before Eid but we failed to do that. The video was ready but the rest of post was interrupted by family time and by the need to reset our sleep schedule that has been out of whack during the last few nights of Ramadan. Add to that the laziness that sets in when you know you already missed your deadline.

As we explained before in a previous post (Linzer Cookies), it is customary for us to bring cookies to our Eid gatherings. We shared the maamoul with family and friends and every feedback was that the pastries were just perfect.

Maamoul are traditionally made from semolina and are filled with dates or nuts, usually pistachios or walnuts. There is a special mold for each of those fillings which helps identify the type of maamoul. Walnut maamoul are semi-spherical and look like a decorated, pointed dome. Date maamoul are cylindrical in shape while pistachio maamoul look like an oval dome. There is nothing that prevents you from using any shape you prefer but you will confuse your guests if you do not follow that convention.

Having a mold is not a must to make these crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth pastries. You can shape the maamoul into smooth balls using the palms of your hands. Any imperfections will be covered when dusted with icing sugar after baking. You can also decorate the balls using a fork or special tweezers known as naggash.

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Yields 42 pieces

After our very successful recipe for basbousa, we received many request for a recipe for basbousa with cream. The video for the basbousa recipe got close to 3/4 of a million views on YouTube, with half a million of those views in the last 6 months. We are delighted with the numbers and the positive response we received.

Basbousa with cream is prepared in different ways. In one method, a layer of cream is gently spread on top of a layer of basbousa batter, then another layer of batter is placed on top of the cream. It is then baked in the oven. In another method, a layer of basbousa batter is baked, then a layer of cream and a layer of batter is placed on top of it. The whole thing is baked again in the oven. Some cooks fully bake the bottom layer while others bake it partially.

With this recipe, we decided to go a different route. Traditional basbousa has a dense consistency, and a layer of cream sitting between two dense layers was not appealing to us. Baking the basbousa twice was also something we did not prefer to do. We decided to bake a fluffier basbousa that would pair well with the layer of cream. Because of its less dense consistency and the fact that it is not baked with the cream, we decided to name it a Semolina Layer Cake. If you want it to be more basbousa-like, increase the quantity of semolina and reduce the quantity of flour in the recipe.

The cream we used in the cake is the white pastry cream recipe that we posted before. Since we are using a syrup, we added only 1 tablespoon of sugar to the cream. Make sure you add the orange blossom water or rose water for an authentic basbousa taste. We placed the cream on the cake right after blending it and while still warm.

We are very happy with the cake and we hope you will like it too. It is a Middle Eastern torte that is light and not too sweet. Serve with more syrup for those who prefer a sweeter cake.

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Serves 8

Qatayef are a staple Ramadan dessert that rarely absent from iftar tables in the Middle East. These little treats have many variations and are made in different forms. Some are filled with cream and drizzled with a thick sugar syrup, others are filled with cheese or nuts and are deep-fried then served with syrup. Those are just a few examples of some of the fillings used for qatayef.

Qatayef are like mini pancakes but they very much remind us of anjero. In fact, when we want to make anjero quickly we use this batter but thin it out a little. The express anjero lacks the fermented taste of regular anjero but it does the job when time is an issue. Just like anjero, qatayef are cooked on one side only and just long enough until the batter dries up on the top of the qatayef. The top will be somewhat sticky and this is needed as it will make it easy to seal the edges when pressed together.

Apart from being delicious, what we also like qatayef is that they can be prepared well ahead and assembled very quickly. Fill them with cream, seal the edges two-thirds of the way, dip in ground pistachios then serve with a rose water-scented sugar syrup.

The baking powder creates the bubbles that make the qatayef porous and fluffy. It is these pores that let the scented syrup to gently seep into the cream-filled centre. If the syrup is not thick enough, the qatayef will quickly become soggy. We use the same thick syrup for qatayef, kunafa, and baklava.

Qatayef are traditionally filled with qishta which is a type of clotted cream. To fill the qatayef, you can use clotted cream, creme fraiche, canned cream or cooked white pastry cream. The cooked pastry cream is particularly useful in that it can be used in deep fried or baked qatayef.

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Yields 40 qatayef

I remember a time in my childhood when I would not eat my lunch if a banana was not served with it. My mother told me the same thing, how she used to boycott lunch if there were no bananas available. I outgrew that, but I still prefer to eat bananas with my lunch. Others have not and I have a brother, who to this day, brings his banana along when tackling rice for lunch.

Bananas were one of the main exports of Somalia and during the harvesting season, they were in abundance in the southern parts of Somalia. The markets overflowed with bananas and there were piles upon piles everywhere. Prices were low and they were much lower at the end of the day when the stalls at the markets had to be emptied and vacated. There were also warehouses that sold only bananas and since none of them were air-conditioned or had refrigerators, the bananas quickly deteriorated in the tropical heat.

We remember one such warehouse in Brava, Somalia that had so many bananas in various stages of deterioration. The bananas never went to waste and the Bravanese used to buy the very cheap bananas and dry the peeled bananas in the sun. Sun-dried bananas, known in Brava as mazalfoorno, were a favourite of ours and we used to snack on them whenever we could lay our hands on some. They were a healthy and nutritious snack.

The Bravanese also used those very ripe bananas to make banana halwa. It is a delicious dessert that goes well with traditional unsweetened Somali coffee. The Bravanese know banana halwa as halwa ya mazu. The halwa was not shaped into balls but was made into a big chunk and everyone would rip a piece off of it.

A chunk of banana halwa is not visually appealing which is why we decided to shape them into balls and coat them. The coating adds another flavour dimension which makes this delicious dessert taste even better.

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