Umm Ali (Egyptian Bread Pudding with Nuts & Cream)
ام علی (میووں اور کریم والا مصری بریڈ پڈنگ)
Umm Ali ("Ali's mother") is Egypt's best-loved dessert and a favourite across the Gulf, especially at Ramadan and Eid buffets. Pieces of baked flaky pastry are layered in a dish with nuts, raisins and coconut, soaked in hot, sweet milk and cream, and baked until the top is golden and bubbling. It's warm, creamy and crunchy at the same time, and South Asian readers will find it a close cousin of shahi tukray and bread-and-milk puddings.
- ⏱ Total: 50 min
- Prep: 15 min
- Cook: 35 min
- Easy
- Serves 6
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Bake the puff pastry flat at 200°C for 15 minutes until puffed and golden. Cool and break into bite-sized pieces. (Croissants or bread: tear and toast lightly.)
Scatter half the pastry in a baking dish, add half the nuts, raisins and coconut, then the rest of the pastry and most of the remaining fruit and nuts.
Heat the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla until steaming and the sugar dissolves. Pour evenly over the pastry and leave for 5 minutes to soak.
Sprinkle with the reserved nuts and bake at 200°C for 15–20 minutes, then under the grill for 2–3 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling. Serve hot.
Serve warm, straight from the dish.
Kitchen notes
Serve it hot; it's at its best when the top is crisp and the middle soft and creamy.
Croissants make a richer, very popular modern version.
Reduce the sugar a little if using sweetened coconut or condensed milk.
Egypt’s favourite dessert
Umm Ali is served everywhere from family kitchens in Cairo to the dessert stations of Gulf hotel buffets. It’s especially popular during Ramadan, when its warmth and richness are welcome after iftar.
Crisp, then creamy
The traditional pastry is a flaky, layered bread called roqaq or feteer, but baked puff pastry is the most common substitute today, and croissants are a popular modern twist. The pastry is baked first so it stays crisp on top while the bottom layers soak up the sweet milk and cream.
Nuts and fruit
Almonds, pistachios, raisins and coconut are scattered between the layers. Some cooks add cinnamon, cardamom or a few drops of rose water.
Getting the balance right
The pastry should be moist but not drowning. Pour the hot milk over gradually until it reaches just below the top layer, so the bottom soaks up the cream and the top bakes crisp. A short spell under the grill at the end gives the golden, slightly caramelised surface that makes umm ali so tempting.
Serving
Serve hot, straight from the dish, with tea or Arabic coffee. Readers who enjoy shahi tukray will love it.
Questions people ask
Who was Ali's mother?
Popular stories link the dish to the Mamluk era in Egypt, but the history is uncertain; what's certain is that it's loved across Egypt and the Gulf.
Is it like shahi tukray?
Similar idea: bread or pastry soaked in sweet milk with nuts. Shahi tukray is fried bread in rabri; umm ali is baked pastry in milk and cream.
Can I make it ahead?
Prepare the baked pastry and nuts in the dish ahead; add the hot milk and bake just before serving.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 520
- Protein
- 10 g
- Fat
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
