As the familiar sound of a televised canon reverberates across the packed living room—joined, inevitably, by a chorus of phones announcing the Maghrib prayer—children, parents, and kaftan-wearing aunties follow the scent of teta’s fattah all the way to a dining table more accurately referred to as a feast.

But while all your relatives are busy scooping up ducks, doves, and debs-roman-soaked dishes, if you—like us—have not one, but a whole row of sweet teeth, you’ll be patiently awaiting the second sofra. The one with basbusa, kunafa, and whatever Ramadan “eftekasa” (weird culinary concoction) your cousin decided to bring this year. And while those seasonal sweet experiments are usually miss or miss, this year, artisanal French pastry shop Madeleine has decided to make sure your eftekasa wins over the whole family, including that uncle who hasn’t tried anything new since 1992.Though Madeleine’s technique is unmistakably French, its roots are proudly Egyptian—two culinary cultures colliding in the pâtisserie’s Ramadan 2026 collection. Concocted by two sweet-toothed siblings—a lawyer that’s all about flavour and an architect that’s obsessed with structure, who are just missing a doctor to complete the set—the unexpectedly flavoured collection is at once delectable, artistic, and painted by personal stories that’ll make you want to call your mom just to say hi.

Take ‘Layali,’ for example. On the outside, it might seem like a banana tart, layered with caramel and vanilla pastry cream, crowned with caramelised konafa, and scribbled with Arabic calligraphy. But in reality, it’s a memory: the founders’ mother standing in the kitchen, year after year, stirring konafa and banana with cream and letting the aroma sneak into every corner of the house.’Cairo Zaman,’ on the other hand, is less about matriarchs and more about minarets. No doubt the brainchild of the architect, this date tart is made up of a date cake base, layered with caramel, the duo’s signature date purée, and date pieces. Then, right on top, you’ll find vanilla whipped ganache, dome-shaped date inserts, and handcrafted chocolate minarets you’ll shamelessly hog from your baby niece.

And since you can’t really have enough dates during Ramadan—or outside of it—'Nakhla’ mixes date sponge soaked in Arabic coffee with date purée and Arabic coffee cream. Now, while this well-caffeinated base will ensure you stay awake for the Suhoor spread, the hand-piped vanilla whipped ganache, subtle touch of cinnamon, and hand-painted chocolate palm tree on top might fill up your stomach long before then.‘Tanoura,’ which is a fresh strawberry baklava dessert, is just as the name implies—joyful, colourful, and so well balanced, you could spin for hours after devouring it whole. ‘Zumuruda,’ is its more restrained sister: inspired by a classic French Saint Honoré and filled with pistachio pastry cream so light, you’ll still have room for the final eftekasa in the catalogue—‘Eish w Halawa.’

No sufra could hope to claim it is Egyptian without a pile of baladi bread so high, it risks tipping into the tehina that’s dangerously (or conveniently) close to your mother-in-law. And in this sumptuous twist, Madeleine makes a whole wheat and bran cake and layers it with pistachio praline, orange blossom whipped ganache, and—baladi bread’s best bud—halawa mousse. Earthy, nutty, and fit for the whole fam, this one celebrates the very centre of the Egyptian dining universe, not just in flavour but in its name—‘baladi’ means ‘my land.’
Now, we're sure the adventurous snackers are already making their Madeleine Ramadan wishlist but, what about the vintage lovers? The ones whose palates might not be so worldly, but they certainly are refined?

For them, Madeleine whips up a tantalising tiramisu, layered with Italy’s finest espresso-soaked indulgence, alongside—perhaps the pâtisserie’s most beloved bestseller, now making its in-store debut—profiteroles. Though small in size, these bite-sized choux are filled with enough vanilla cream for two and topped with caramel sauce so silky, it slips right off your fork.

Yeah, our stomachs are rumbling, too. But not for long, because in a week’s time, you’ll be able to walk right on up to the Madeleine store in Izar Plaza or Palm Hills and grab yourself and the fam a whole box of ‘Eish w Halawa.’ After all, it’s not Ramadan if you’re not sharing, and it’s not Ramadan in Egypt if there are no eftakasat in sight.