Best Desserts in Marrakech — Moroccan Sweets and Pastries

Moroccan desserts revolve around almonds, honey, sesame, orange-flower water and pastry, and they are traditionally eaten not as a plated course but with tea, at celebrations, and to break the fast in Ramadan. The classics to know in Marrakech include kaab el ghazal (gazelle horns), crescents of thin pastry filled with almond paste scented with orange-flower water; chebakia, sesame-coated ribbons of dough fried and soaked in honey, especially at Ramadan; briouat, little sweet pastry parcels of almond or filo folded around nutty fillings and dipped in honey; and sellou (also called sfouf), a dense, sweet, energy-rich paste of toasted flour, ground almonds, sesame and honey eaten by the spoonful.

In the medina, sweet stalls and stands around Jemaa el-Fna and the souks sell these by weight, often piled in glass cases, alongside sfenj doughnuts and fried treats. For a more refined take, the patisseries of Gueliz and the ville nouvelle produce beautiful trays of Moroccan pastries as well as French-style cakes, a legacy of the country's mixed culinary heritage. Many riads and restaurants finish a meal with an assortment of these sweets and a pot of mint tea.

Beyond the pastries, look for sweet couscous (seffa), fine couscous or vermicelli steamed and dusted with cinnamon, sugar and almonds, sometimes topped with milk; sweet pastilla filled with milk-soaked pastry and almonds; and seasonal fruit, which Moroccans often prefer as an everyday dessert. Dates stuffed with almond paste, and fresh oranges dusted with cinnamon, are simple classics.

To explore the sweets, buy an assortment by weight from a medina stall or a Gueliz patisserie and eat them the Moroccan way, with mint tea and in company. They are rich and honey-heavy, so a few pieces go a long way — perfect for an afternoon pause between wanders through the souks.