The Délices Journal

A hundred years of stories.

Heritage, recipes and the art of a great table — from the family that has kept Alexandria's sweetest counter since 1922.

The Story of Délices: A Hundred Years on Saad Zaghloul StreetHeritage

The Story of Délices: A Hundred Years on Saad Zaghloul Street

How a Greek confectioner's 1922 patisserie in Alexandria became the café that baked King Farouk's coronation cake — and is still run by the same family today.

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Greek Coffee, the Délices Way: How We Brew It (and How to Brew It at Home)Coffee

Greek Coffee, the Délices Way: How We Brew It (and How to Brew It at Home)

A guide to Greek coffee — light, medium, dark and cardamom — and how Délices has ground and brewed it in Alexandria since 1922. Plus tips for the perfect cup at home.

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Planning a Wedding Dessert Table in Alexandria: A Délices GuideEvents

Planning a Wedding Dessert Table in Alexandria: A Délices Guide

From the centrepiece cake to the patisserie pavilion and white-glove service — how to plan an unforgettable wedding dessert table for 100+ guests in Alexandria.

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The Coronation Cake of 1937: The Year Délices Baked for a KingHeritage

The Coronation Cake of 1937: The Year Délices Baked for a King

In 1937 a Greek-owned patisserie on Saad Zaghloul Street was asked to bake King Farouk's coronation cake, and in 1938 his royal wedding cake. What that meant then, and why the family still keeps the crest on the wall.

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The Greeks of Alexandria and the Patisseries They BuiltAlexandria

The Greeks of Alexandria and the Patisseries They Built

How Alexandria's Greek community shaped the city's café culture from the 1900s onward, why so many of its patisseries were Greek-owned, and what remains of that world today.

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What Is a Pistachio Mille-Feuille? Anatomy of Our Most-Filmed PastryPatisserie

What Is a Pistachio Mille-Feuille? Anatomy of Our Most-Filmed Pastry

Three layers of caramelised puff pastry, two of pistachio cream, and a crown of crushed nuts. Why the pistachio mille-feuille became the pastry Alexandria cannot stop filming, and how to eat one properly.

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Kunafa Cheesecake: Where Athens Meets AlexandriaPatisserie

Kunafa Cheesecake: Where Athens Meets Alexandria

A baked cheesecake with a crust of crisp kunafa threads and a syrup finish. The story of a dessert that could only have been invented in a Greek-Egyptian kitchen, and how Délices makes it.

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How to Choose a Wedding Caterer in Alexandria: Ten Questions to AskOccasions

How to Choose a Wedding Caterer in Alexandria: Ten Questions to Ask

Planning a wedding or gala in and around Alexandria? The ten questions that separate a caterer from a kitchen that delivers food, from a house that has run Egypt's tables since 1937.

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A Walk Down Saad Zaghloul Street: Raml Station and the Café CenturyAlexandria

A Walk Down Saad Zaghloul Street: Raml Station and the Café Century

A short walking guide to the heart of downtown Alexandria: Raml Station, Saad Zaghloul Square, the Corniche, and the century-old patisserie at number 46.

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What Is an Éclair? Choux, Cream and a Glossy TopPatisserie

What Is an Éclair? Choux, Cream and a Glossy Top

An éclair is a long finger of choux pastry filled with cream and glazed on top. Here is how it is made, where it comes from, and how to tell a good one.

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Vanilla Mille-Feuille: The Classic Layered French PastryPatisserie

Vanilla Mille-Feuille: The Classic Layered French Pastry

Mille-feuille is three layers of crisp puff pastry with vanilla pastry cream between them, topped with icing. A guide to how it is made and how to cut it.

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Mille-Feuille vs Napoleon: Are They the Same Pastry?Patisserie

Mille-Feuille vs Napoleon: Are They the Same Pastry?

Mille-feuille and napoleon are usually the same layered puff pastry with cream. The difference is mostly the name, the region and sometimes the filling.

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What Is Baklava? Layers, Nuts and Syrup ExplainedGreek Sweets

What Is Baklava? Layers, Nuts and Syrup Explained

Baklava is thin filo pastry layered with chopped nuts, baked and soaked in syrup or honey. A guide to its history, its styles and how to judge a good piece.

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What Is Galaktoboureko? The Greek Custard PieGreek Sweets

What Is Galaktoboureko? The Greek Custard Pie

Galaktoboureko is a Greek dessert of semolina custard baked between sheets of buttered filo and soaked in syrup. Here is its history and how it is served.

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Kunafa Explained: Nabulsi Cheese, Cream and Ramadan FavouritesEgyptian Sweets

Kunafa Explained: Nabulsi Cheese, Cream and Ramadan Favourites

Kunafa is shredded pastry baked with cheese or cream and soaked in syrup. A guide to Nabulsi kunafa, kunafa with cream, and how Egypt eats it.

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What Is Basbousa? Egypt's Semolina Syrup CakeEgyptian Sweets

What Is Basbousa? Egypt's Semolina Syrup Cake

Basbousa is a moist semolina cake baked in a tray, soaked in syrup and often topped with almonds. Here is how Egyptians make and serve it.

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What Is Qatayef? The Ramadan Pancake of EgyptEgyptian Sweets

What Is Qatayef? The Ramadan Pancake of Egypt

Qatayef are small pancakes folded around nuts or cream, then fried or served fresh with syrup. A guide to Egypt's favourite Ramadan street sweet.

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Umm Ali: The Story Behind Egypt's Bread PuddingEgyptian Sweets

Umm Ali: The Story Behind Egypt's Bread Pudding

Umm Ali is a baked Egyptian dessert of pastry, milk, nuts and raisins. Here is the legend behind its name, how it is made and when to eat it.

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Roz Bel Laban: How Egyptians Make Rice PuddingEgyptian Sweets

Roz Bel Laban: How Egyptians Make Rice Pudding

Roz bel laban is Egyptian rice pudding: short-grain rice simmered in milk with sugar, chilled and topped with nuts or cinnamon. Here is the method.

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Kahk: Egypt's Eid Cookies and Their Long HistoryEgyptian Sweets

Kahk: Egypt's Eid Cookies and Their Long History

Kahk are buttery Egyptian cookies dusted with icing sugar and made for Eid al-Fitr. A guide to fillings, history and how families still bake them.

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Bettefour: The Story of Egyptian Petit FoursEgyptian Sweets

Bettefour: The Story of Egyptian Petit Fours

Egyptian petit fours, or bettefour, are small butter biscuits piped, dipped in chocolate or filled with jam. Here is where they came from and how to serve them.

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Ghorayeba: Egypt's Melt-in-the-Mouth Butter CookiesEgyptian Sweets

Ghorayeba: Egypt's Melt-in-the-Mouth Butter Cookies

Ghorayeba are pale, crumbly cookies of butter, powdered sugar and flour, often topped with a nut. A guide to this Eid favourite across the Arab world.

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What Are Loukoumades? Greek Honey DoughnutsGreek Sweets

What Are Loukoumades? Greek Honey Doughnuts

Loukoumades are small Greek fried dough balls soaked in honey syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon or nuts. Here is their history and how they are served.

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What Are Kourabiedes? Greek Christmas Butter CookiesGreek Sweets

What Are Kourabiedes? Greek Christmas Butter Cookies

Kourabiedes are Greek almond shortbread cookies buried in powdered sugar, baked for Christmas, weddings and baptisms. A guide to their history and method.

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What Are Melomakarona? Greek Honey Christmas CookiesGreek Sweets

What Are Melomakarona? Greek Honey Christmas Cookies

Melomakarona are Greek Christmas cookies made with olive oil and orange, soaked in honey syrup and topped with walnuts. A guide to how they are made.

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Vasilopita: The Greek New Year Cake With a Hidden CoinGreek Sweets

Vasilopita: The Greek New Year Cake With a Hidden Coin

Vasilopita is the Greek New Year cake baked with a hidden coin for good luck. Here is the tradition behind it, how it is cut and who gets the first slice.

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Cassata: From Sicily to a 1920s Recipe in AlexandriaPatisserie

Cassata: From Sicily to a 1920s Recipe in Alexandria

Cassata is a celebrated Italian dessert from Sicily. Here is its history, its two main forms, and why Délices still makes cassata from a 1920s recipe.

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What Are Macarons? The French Almond Sandwich CookiePatisserie

What Are Macarons? The French Almond Sandwich Cookie

Macarons are French almond meringue shells sandwiched with ganache, buttercream or jam. A guide to their history, the feet, and how to keep them fresh.

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What Are Profiteroles? Choux Buns, Cream and ChocolatePatisserie

What Are Profiteroles? Choux Buns, Cream and Chocolate

Profiteroles are small choux pastry buns filled with cream or ice cream and served with chocolate sauce. A guide to their history and how to serve them.

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Dragées: Why Sugared Almonds Are Given at WeddingsOccasions

Dragées: Why Sugared Almonds Are Given at Weddings

Dragées are almonds coated in hard sugar, given in fives at weddings and baptisms. Here is the meaning, the history, and how families present them.

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Gelato vs Dandourma: Italian and Stretchy Ice Creams ExplainedPatisserie

Gelato vs Dandourma: Italian and Stretchy Ice Creams Explained

Gelato is dense Italian ice cream; dandourma is stretchy ice cream thickened with salep and mastic. Here is how they differ and where to find each.

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Best Patisserie in Alexandria: What to Look ForAlexandria

Best Patisserie in Alexandria: What to Look For

Looking for the best patisserie in Alexandria? Here is how to judge one, which classics to try, and why a century-old shop on Saad Zaghloul Street is a good start.

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Historic Cafés in Alexandria: A Short GuideAlexandria

Historic Cafés in Alexandria: A Short Guide

Alexandria's historic cafés grew from its Greek, Italian and French communities. Here is a short guide to the downtown cafés and what to look for in each.

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What to Eat in Alexandria: Seafood, Street Food and SweetsAlexandria

What to Eat in Alexandria: Seafood, Street Food and Sweets

What to eat in Alexandria: fresh seafood, liver sandwiches, foul and falafel, feteer, and the sweets of its historic patisseries. A practical first-timer's list.

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Ramadan Desserts in Egypt: Kunafa, Qatayef and MoreEgypt

Ramadan Desserts in Egypt: Kunafa, Qatayef and More

The classic Ramadan desserts in Egypt are kunafa, qatayef, basbousa, Umm Ali and konafa with cream. A guide to what is eaten after iftar and why.

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Eid Sweets in Egypt: Kahk, Ghorayeba, Biscuits and BettefourEgypt

Eid Sweets in Egypt: Kahk, Ghorayeba, Biscuits and Bettefour

For Eid al-Fitr, Egyptians serve kahk, ghorayeba, basata biscuits and bettefour. A guide to what goes on the Eid tray and how to plan one.

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Wedding Cakes in Alexandria: How to Plan YoursOccasions

Wedding Cakes in Alexandria: How to Plan Yours

How to plan a wedding cake in Alexandria: timing, tiers, flavours, heat and transport, and the royal wedding cake history of Délices since 1938.

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The Greek Community of Egypt: A Heritage GuideEgypt

The Greek Community of Egypt: A Heritage Guide

Greeks lived in Egypt for centuries, and Alexandria held one of the largest Greek communities outside Greece. A guide to that history and what remains today.

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Christmas and Easter Sweets in AlexandriaOccasions

Christmas and Easter Sweets in Alexandria

Alexandria celebrates Christmas and Easter twice: Western and Orthodox. A guide to the Greek, Coptic and European sweets that fill the city's tables.

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