Pot de Crème: A Spoonful of Heaven

Egypt is not exactly in short supply of sweet indulgences. In fact, they are a staple to every man and woman's daily diet, for a spoonfull of sugar helps our meal go down. While the dessert market is saturated with locales offering us cakes and cupcakes, we at CairoScene recently obtained breaking news: there is a fresh new joint (or shall we say cart?) on the block. Having recently begun as a stationary cart-resembling booth in Marassi, waiting for us at several exhibitions and bazaars and catering for an array of events, channelling Egypt's sweet tooth is none other than Pot de Crème. 

Pot de Crème, a company that takes puddings further than Mahalabeya, consists of three partners; a couple with a soft spot for all things sweet, Mohamed Essa and Yasmina Abdel Latif, and their best friend Bassel Sabry. We sit down with the dessert-loving trio as they explain to us all about their delicious concept and where it began. “The idea first came to us when we were visiting the States, and we were eating at this rice pudding place. It served more than 20 different types of rice pudding and we were amazed,” Mohamed tells us.

Already captivated, as the image of any rice pudding flavour under the sun is any sweet junkie's dream, Yasmina continues, “Both of us and our third partner, who is based out in Dubai, have a very big sweet tooth and we've been wanting to start something new together for a very long time. Wanting to share our passion for dessert with people and our desire not to replicate anything that already exists, we came upon the concept of introducing an array of puddings.”

As franchising large companies here in Egypt is extremely expensive, and after weighing up the benefits between starting up an international or local business, these innovators of dessert decided that the pursuit of setting up a local business enabled them to capitalise on their passion. Thus, true to their slogan, Pot de Crème was born 'for the love of pudding'.

Next came the menu. Thanks to some old family recipes, modern recipes and several cooking classes, the puddings in a pot were created. From best sellers (we’ve tried them all) such as Butter Scotch (including peanut brittle bits), Dulce de Leche (a caramel pudding with layers of vanilla cake) and the Nostalgic Chocolate Pot (grandma's very own recipe), Pot de Crème does not lack in variety. The pudding geniuses also hit the niche market with their very own Pudding Pops (frosty pudding popsicles) served in different shapes, sizes and flavours, ranging from Pina Colada to our personal favourite, Oreo Vanilla.

What struck us most about Pot de Crème is that their products cater to all ages, needs and desires.  Place an order with them and you will not simply be asked what your taste buds yearn for, but whether you have any specific dietary requirements. Oh, you do? Well, then enjoy the ample array of healthy puddings on offer from their Vegan line, ranging from their Vegan Chocolate Pudding to the Angel's Avocado Pudding, containing avocado and honey with Chia seeds and almonds.

In addition their signature products, such the Coloured Velvet Puddings (which Pot de Crème was the first to introduce to the market) and Rainbow Vanilla Puddings, they will cater to any size and theme you want. From a blue velvet pudding for a boy's baby shower to pink velvet pudding for a girl's baby shower or breast cancer awareness month, the sky is the limit.

Speaking to both partners about their puddings may have gotten our stomachs rumbling and our mouths watering. In any case, we could not help but fall in love with Pot de Crème, as it became clear that for them there is no other way than perfection.

“The recipes and products take time to be developed, as they have to be sampled and adjusted several times. To develop one of our recipes takes approximately a month. However, we take client feedback heavily in to account and adjust our desserts accordingly. We put quality ahead of cost,” Mohamed explains. The Banana Pudding was simply divine thanks to the attention to detail, with the bland vanilla extract or powder was replaced with actual vanilla seeds. Not to mention, there is a top quality chef executing these recipes.

The future is bright for Pot de Crème, as their products are simply ingenious. The goal is to have carts everywhere and serve pudding-y goodness to everyone, and we could not be more excited. Pot de Crème is not simply a pot of pudding; it is the future of desserts. Sorry cupcakes.

Throughout the month of November, dessert lovers will be able to find Pot de Crème at the Heliopolis Club.

You can follow Pot de Crème on Facebook here, or on Instagram @pot_de_creme