Ramadan: new sweet addresses that modernize Oriental flavors
As we break the fast, a new generation of talented pastry chefs is dusting off sweet traditions.
Date syrup to replace white sugar, well-sourced pistachios or almonds... Often seen as Christian stifles, Oriental desserts are gaining a new reputation far from the clichés, thanks to young chefs who dare to desugar the recipes of their childhood. In the same waythat French patisserie is undergoing its "no added sugar" revolution, Sara Boukhaled, Myriam Sabet and Othman El Ouraoui are drawing inspiration from their dual cultures to modernize the traditional sweets of their Oriental roots.
3 good addresses in Paris to change the way we look at Oriental patisserie
Maison Aleph
Natural rosewater, well-sourced cardamom and zaatar... Oriental fragrances meet French terroir products, such as walnuts from Périgord or AOP Poitou-Charentes butter in Myriam Sabet's shop window. The former trader turned talented chef has resurrected the smells and textures of recipes from her childhood in Aleppo, while following the codes of French patisserie. Her Le Levant cake, for example, is inspired by an ancestral "klija" recipe, based on nigella seeds, cinnamon and almond paste, which reproduces the ultra-moist bounciness of a tricolored cake.
YvesKharfan, ©Pierre Nasti
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Othman El Ouraoui was born in France. His mother is Algerian and his father Moroccan. Sayo Yamagata is Japanese, but grew up in the United States. The two chefs met in the kitchens of the Bristol in 2018 and came up with an unusual pastry concept: to bring together the respective flavors of their roots behind the same shop window. Since April 2022, the pastry couple have been orchestrating a delicious journey from Fez to Tokyo, with a stopover in New York. The range stands out for its lightness and intensity of taste. Their signature dessert is Saveurs d'Orient. An entremets based on a rosewater mousse, resting on a pistachio crunch, which doesn't at all saturate the taste buds with sugar, thanks to a mandarin marmalade. "We draw inspiration from the classics of French pastry-making, adapting them to the flavours of our origins," sums up Othman El Ouraoui. The almond cake is a case in point: it draws its deliciously sweet flavor from vanilla.
Maison Gazelle
For Ramadan, Sara Boukhaled's pretty address is back in the spotlight in Paris, with a new pop-up corner opening on April 3 at Galeries Lafayettes Haussmann. The chef will, of course, be back with her intensely gourmet gazelle horns, to be devoured with a highly personalized almond milk. A bar offers the opportunity to choose a variety of almonds from different origins. The dried fruit is instantly cold-pressed. All that's left to do is choose the recipe to add honey, cinnamon, orange blossom or the savoir-faire of a chai latte. At lunchtime, Sara Boukhaled will offer a savoury version of flaky Moroccan crepes, m'semen, which will be infused with zaatar and rolled into a wrap to become little sandwiches.
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3 questions to Sara Boukhaled, founder of Maison Gazelle
Why are traditional Oriental pastries so sweet?
It's cultural. Whether it's honey or sugar in general, they're symbols of generosity. That said, I've noticed that Oriental pastries prepared in France are much sweeter than in Morocco.
The gazelle horn is your pastry emblem. How did you go about modernizing and de-sugaring it?
It's my favorite pastry! Not only does it have a sensual, feminine side, but above all, I'm an almond fanatic. And it's a recipe in which you can feel it particularly well. It's supposed to contain 80% almonds. So if you're not working with a good quality dried fruit, you'll have no choice but to cheat. In the shops, you can find white beans and bitter almond flavoring to reduce the presence of almonds. In this case, you have to add a lot of sugar to drown the fish. As far as I'm concerned, I've sourced my raw materials very carefully. I work the almonds from A to Z, i.e. I trim them myself, I make my own almond powder, etc., and so on. The result is a beautiful intensity.
Along with Myriam Sabet (Maison Aleph), you are part of this new generation of chefs who are dusting off Oriental pastry. Why is this such a recent phenomenon, and why is it struggling to catch on in Paris and the regions?
The revival is more dynamic on the Levant side, like the creations of Maison Aleph. There are more proposals for Syria and Lebanon. And that's a good thing! There are so many stereotypes about Oriental patisserie. It's inevitably thought to be too sweet and too fatty. We often wonder where they come from. And then, you see them on every street corner, in Barbès as well as in Morocco. As a result, consumers think that these are cheap recipes that aren't supposed to be expensive... All these preconceived ideas are slowing down the revival. It's up to us to prove the contrary and be creative! I'm sure that this revival will also reach the French regions in the years to come.
