Baklava can be traced back to the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul over 3,000 years ago. But I’m loving this delicious feast closer to home: at Sweet Smith Cafe in Coimbatore. Composed of 40 layers of crispy phyllo sheets filled with pistachios and cashews, with a drizzle of honey on top, baklava is sweet, yet light, and crunchy.
The Sweet Smith series was launched in Kochi by two sisters, Sanam Safid and Sonam Safid, both from Elamakkara in Kerala. They specialize in the popular baklava and kunafa as well as Turkish desserts from Egypt’s Umm Ali. After catering to Kozhikode, Malappuram and Perinthalmanna in Kerala, they have just launched their first outlet in Coimbatore.
a business model
“They worked largely as home bakers since 2017, receiving ingredients like kunafa dough and phyllo sheets from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, and sending gifts to friends and family,” says co-founder Hani Hassan. Sweet Smith is chained in a successful business in Kerala.
In Coimbatore, the team has partnered with Resvin Nazir KR from Hotel City Tower Group. “Coimbatore is opening up to new cuisines and people are trying new experiences and sweets like in any metropolitan city. So, we thought, why not?”
As for resvin, he was convinced after a spoonful of umm ali. Stating that it was an occasion to bring his wife’s favorite sweets to Coimbatore, he said that he was particularly fascinated by the Egyptian pudding. Named after the wife of the ruler of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt, who asked her cooks to make the most delicious dessert, umm ali is a mixture of cream and nuts.
soul Food
Honey calls it soul food, like kheer or payasam, and I have to agree. In Sweet Smith’s version, phyllo sheets are baked with cream (made in-house) and milk, then garnished with crushed pistachios. It’s crusty, mildly sweet and earthy, and makes me happy immediately.
“Although it’s traditionally made with croissants and bread, we used phyllo sheets and everyone loves it,” says Hani. These sweets are completely vegetarian. Even eggs are not used. They use butter and dry fruits liberally, so we have reduced the sugar.”
how to get there
- Sweet Smith is located at 46, ATT Colony, Kerala Club Road, Gopalapuram. Open from 11 am to 11 pm. Call: 9944172872
Sweet Smith also offers more than 10 varieties of kunafa, from classics to versions with Ferrero Rocher chocolates and sizzling ice cream. Since the central kitchen is located in Kozhikode, the team adopts a double baking system so that customers in Coimbatore can enjoy desserts straight from the oven. For example, for kunafa which requires 45 minutes of baking, the first 30 minutes is baked in the Calicut Central Kitchen and the second 15 minutes in the cafe in Coimbatore. Baklava is partially baked and then frozen, like the phyllo sheets that go into um ali.
What’s next on the menu? Hassan says he will never have the variety to experiment with. “Baklava is like our pudding, there are 300 to 400 types,” he says, “we only finalized eight varieties after trying more than 40.”
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