Having met Ali a couple years back in the Halal Food Festival I was impressed with two things, one that he was still baking since the Great British Bake Off and two, that he’s desserts were really good!  I asked him when he was going to be bringing these amazing bakes to London (considering the unlikely prospect that I would be visiting Birmingham anytime) and he said “maybe, one day…”

Two years later and Ali has successfully collaborated with Milk Café Gelato to open “London’s first premium pop-up dessert parlour.” This was immediately on my agenda, it was a combination of my favourite things, a pop up, a dessert parlour and yes I’m a fan of GBBO.  What appealed to me the most was Ali’s ethos behind the pop up, he wanted to tackle Islamaphobia in a positive way, by showcasing the flavours of the Muslim world in his desserts.   Now, I love the aroma and the spices of the east but I much prefer dessert dishes of the west, for the two to come together was an exciting prospect and I couldn’t wait to see the outcome.

So my friend and avid baker Salma from @salma_bakes_and_makes went to Bake Street in Hackney where the pop up was held.  On arrival we were greeted by Ali, (it was nice to see that he was in the café as well as being busy in the kitchen) he spoke to us a little bit about the desserts and helped us to order, with so many choices we were struggling! The desserts were named after different Muslim countries and in the end we opted for Palestine’s chocolate and date brownie and Iran’s Persian sundae.  I had also pre-ordered an off the menu afternoon tea.

First came the mocktails, we ordered the Sultan, an iced chai and coconut creamy cooler and the Shah, a tart pomegranate and rose lemonade.  The flavours worked well together and it was disappointing to think I would be going back to mojitos and pina coladas in restaurants when there are so many interesting non alcoholic combinations.

Next was the afternoon tea, I must admit it looked nothing like what was pictured on instagram so I was a bit surpised with the layout and the different pieces put together remsembled more of a tasting platter of appetisers than an ‘evening tea.’  The platter consisted of savoury and sweet petit fours and seemed like random pieces and not in keeping with the Islamic theme.

The desserts that followed however, were stunning!  The ‘Iran’ was a Persian Sundae beautifully decorated with rose petals, roasted almonds, yogurt ice cream scoops, digestive crumb base and handful of fairy floss made colourful by a fresh fruit salad.

Initially, I wanted the ‘Pakistan’ a white chocolate sphere with kheer and khulfi combinations however as it was not available we chose ‘Palestine’, a warm chocolate date and fig brownie, with creamy cinnamon and ginger gelato drizzled with date sauce. Yum!

The pop up comes to an end this weekend just as Ramadan begins, which is probably a good thing as I’m wondering why I didn’t also order the Malaysian toasted coconut cookie dough and Moroccan Orange drizzle cake…

Milk Cafe Gelato, 58 Evering Road, London, N16 7SR