What is chebakia, the Moroccan Ramadan pastry?

Chebakia is the sweet that signals Ramadan more than any other. The dough is spiced with cinnamon, anise, and toasted ground sesame, scented with orange-blossom water, then rolled, cut, and folded by hand into an intricate flower or rosette shape — a skill that takes practice and that Moroccan families do together in big batches. The shaped pieces are deep-fried until crisp and golden, then plunged straight into warm honey so the dough drinks it up.

Biting into a good chebakia is a wonderful contrast: the outside shatters slightly while the honey-soaked layers underneath are chewy and sticky, oozing sweetness. The flavour is floral and warmly spiced, the sesame giving a roasted nuttiness, the orange blossom lifting it so it never feels heavy despite all that honey. A final shower of sesame seeds clings to the sticky surface.

During Ramadan, chebakia appears on every iftar table alongside harira soup — the sweet-and-savoury pairing is one of the great traditions, the honey giving an instant energy lift after the fast. Families make kilos of it in the days before the month begins so there is always a plateful ready. Outside Ramadan you can still find it, but it tastes most magical eaten as the call to prayer signals the end of the fast.

You can buy chebakia year-round from pâtisseries and souk sweet vendors, stacked in glistening pyramids, but if you visit during Ramadan you will see it everywhere and at its freshest. I sometimes arrange for guests to join a family making it before iftar, because the folding is mesmerising and the smell of frying dough and honey fills the whole house. Pair it with mint tea and you will understand the obsession.