Ramadan is the perfect time to make something a little special for the family to enjoy after iftar. Once we’ve broken our fast and had our evening meal, there’s nothing quite like sitting down with a cup of chai and a little sweet treat!
Today I’m sharing three delicious Ramadan treats that are quite different from each other but are all perfect for the month of Ramadan.
We’re making:
- Quick Date & Cinnamon Puff Pastry Rolls
- Mango Milk Cake
- Homemade Doughnuts with Date Cream
The first couldn’t be much easier and only needs three ingredients. The mango milk cake takes a little more preparation but is absolutely worth it, and finally we have lovely soft homemade doughnuts filled with date-flavoured cream.
The Mango Milk Cake was definitely the star in our house. My husband told me it was the best cake I’d ever made – which is quite a compliment! The children enjoyed it too, so this is definitely one I’ll be making again.
Let’s get started.
Easy Date & Cinnamon Puff Pastry Rolls
We’ll begin with the easiest Ramadan treat of the three.
I spotted some date syrup while grocery shopping and couldn’t believe I’d never noticed it before. It looks a little like treacle but tastes wonderfully of dates, making it perfect for Ramadan desserts.
Pairing it with cinnamon and puff pastry makes a really quick alternative to homemade cinnamon rolls.
Ingredients
- 1 ready-rolled puff pastry sheet
- Date syrup
- Ground cinnamon
Method
Preheat your oven according to the instructions on your packet of puff pastry.
Unroll the pastry onto a sheet of baking paper.
Drizzle date syrup generously over the pastry and spread it across the surface.
Sprinkle ground cinnamon evenly over the date syrup.
Starting at one end, roll the pastry as tightly as you can until you have one long roll.
Cut the roll into 8 equal pieces.
Place the rolls onto lightly greased baking trays, leaving some room between them. If they’ve become a little squashed while cutting, gently reshape them into rounds.
Bake according to the instructions on your puff pastry packet until the pastry has risen and turned golden.
And that’s it!
They look really cute, taste delicious and require hardly any preparation. They’re perfect for those evenings when you want a homemade Ramadan treat without doing lots of baking.
Mango Milk Cake
If you’re only going to try one recipe from this post, this might have to be it!
Milk cake is already delicious, but adding mango makes it even more special.
The idea is to make a light sponge cake and then soak it in a mixture of condensed milk, evaporated milk and whole milk. The lighter and fluffier the sponge, the better it can absorb all that lovely milk.
It’s then topped with mango cream and even more mango pulp.
Mango Milk Cake Ingredients
For the cake
- 110g unsalted butter, softened
- 200g caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 200g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp sweetened mango pulp
For the milk mixture
- 397g tin condensed milk
- 410g tin evaporated milk
- 200ml whole milk
For the topping
- 100g sweetened mango pulp
- 450g double cream
- 50g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp sweetened mango pulp
How to Make Mango Milk Cake
Start by adding the softened butter and caster sugar to a large mixing bowl.
Whisk together until light and creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time, whisking between each addition. We want to incorporate plenty of air because a light sponge will absorb the milk mixture much better later.
Add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of sweetened mango pulp and mix.
Next, add the plain flour and baking powder.
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the mixture rather than vigorously whisking them. Try not to overmix because we want to keep as much air in the batter as possible.
Lightly grease a large baking dish and pour in the cake mixture.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the cake is cooked through.
Keep an eye on your cake because ovens can vary. Mine actually took around 25 minutes and became slightly darker on top than I wanted, so I would start checking it at around the 20-minute mark.
Allow the cake to cool slightly.
Adding the Mango and Milk
Spread approximately 100g of mango pulp over the top of the cake.
Next, make lots of little holes across the cake. These will help our milk mixture soak right through the sponge.
In a jug, combine:
- Condensed milk
- Evaporated milk
- Whole milk
Slowly pour most of this mixture over the cake.
Don’t use all of it. Keep some aside in the fridge because you can pour it over individual slices when serving.
Cover the cake and refrigerate for at least an hour. If you have more time, leave it a little longer so the sponge has plenty of opportunity to absorb the milk.
When you take it back out, you’ll notice that most of the liquid has disappeared into the sponge.
Mango Cream Topping
Add the double cream, icing sugar and 2 tablespoons of mango pulp to a mixing bowl.
Whisk until the cream has thickened enough to spread over the cake.
Spread the mango cream generously across the chilled cake.
You can then drizzle or spoon a little more mango pulp over the top and create whatever design you fancy.
Pop the finished cake back into the fridge for another couple of hours to allow the topping to set.
When you’re ready to serve, cut yourself a lovely slice and pour some of that reserved milk mixture over the top.
Absolutely delicious!
This would make a lovely Ramadan dessert, but I also think it would be perfect to make for Eid.
Homemade Doughnuts with Date Cream
Our final Ramadan treat takes a little more time because we’re making the dough from scratch, but there’s something special about eating a freshly made doughnut while it’s still beautifully soft.
I decided to bring dates into this recipe again by making a simple date cream filling.
Doughnut Ingredients
- 450g strong white bread flour
- 30g caster sugar, plus extra for coating
- 60g butter, softened
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 200ml milk, gently warmed
- 7g dried active yeast
- 1 litre sunflower oil, for frying
Date Cream Filling
- 150g double cream
- 1 tbsp date syrup
How to Make the Doughnuts
Gently warm the milk. You want it warm rather than hot.
Combine the warm milk with the yeast and some of the caster sugar.
Leave for approximately 5 minutes, until you can see bubbles beginning to form.
Place the strong white bread flour into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre.
Pour in the yeast mixture and add the softened butter and beaten eggs.
Mix and knead until everything comes together into a lovely smooth dough.
Lightly oil a clean bowl and place the dough inside.
Cover and leave somewhere warm for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.
Once risen, transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it briefly for around a minute.
Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and shape each one.
Heat the sunflower oil and carefully fry the doughnuts until golden, turning them so that they cook on both sides.
They cook quite quickly, so keep an eye on them.
Once cooked, carefully remove them from the oil and coat them in caster sugar.
Making the Date Cream
The filling couldn’t be much simpler.
Add the double cream and date syrup to a bowl and whisk until the mixture thickens.
Once the doughnuts are cool enough, pipe the cream into the centre of each one.
And your homemade date cream doughnuts are ready!
Sweet Treats for Ramadan
I love that these three recipes give you something for different occasions.
The Date & Cinnamon Rolls are brilliant when you want something quick and easy.
The Mango Milk Cake is more of a showstopper and would be lovely when you’re having family over for iftar – or even as an Eid dessert.
And the Date Cream Doughnuts are a fun homemade treat, particularly when you can enjoy them fresh.
You certainly don’t need to make elaborate desserts every day during Ramadan, but it’s lovely to have a few special recipes you can bring out during the month.
And if you’re already using dates to break your fast, that bottle of date syrup is another delicious way to bring the flavour of dates into your Ramadan baking.
I hope you give one – or all three – of these recipes a try.
Which would you choose first: the mango milk cake, date & cinnamon rolls or the date cream doughnuts?
May Allah allow us to reach Ramadan, bless the month for us and accept our fasting, prayers and duas. Ameen. 🌙❤️
