The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Located
next to the Embassy of Denmark on Hassan Sabri Street in Zamalek, Tortina is very easy to
find thanks to its bright and flashy macaroon pyramid display in its window and
its fuchsia lighting on black walls.

The
smell of the vanilla and pastries is so good and intense that you’ll want to
eat everything. The shop is very clean and the products look delicious.
Tortina’s specialities are cakes but they offer a wide range of confectionery
goods. If you are in a hurry and don’t want to run from one shop to the other
looking for the right dessert, Tortina offers you oriental and Western
pastries, both traditional and more elaborate cakes as well as a service where
you can custom-order cakes upon request for special events.

If
you want to add a French touch to your dessert, Tortina offer you a wide choice
of macaroons. This little French speciality is made of two delicate almond
meringue cookies that, like a sandwich, are filled with different flavours such
as chocolate, raspberry, lemon, coffee, caramel and hazelnut. A dozen macaroons
will cost you 45LE, and it’s an original gift idea if you are invited to dinner.
Compared to the great French macaroon makers, we were not disappointed at all.
The meringue is soft and flaky, and the filling juicy and chewy as it has to
be.

As
mentioned, Tortina takes requests for custom-made cakes. You can choose from their catalogue or bring
your own ideas if you have something specific in mind. Considering that the
preparation time depends on the volume of the order and on how many orders the
shop has, the request should be made at least 24 hours before the delivery date
to give Tortina enough time to prepare it. The cost depends on the size and the
kind of cake.

You
can also choose from their selection of cakes. A classic strawberry cake
(vanilla sponge cake, fresh cream and strawberries) will cost you 120LE serving
eight people, while the larger size serves twelve (160LE). There is also the
mango version and a similar one that is enriched with Italian meringue,
Bavarian cream, and fresh fruit (110LE and 150LE respectively). Chocolate
lovers will enjoy the Mars cheesecake (125LE), the Twix cake (110LE) or a more
traditional Montania (chocolate cake, Bavarian cream, Valrhona milk chocolate,
and hazelnuts coated with chocolate for 160LE).

 If
you prefer, you can also mix and buy different chocolate, fruit, and cream pastries
for 7LE to 13LE. After much deliberation, we chose to try the bright-red-strawberry
tartlet (11LE), a slice of date cake (8.50LE), another of chocolate-Twix cake
(10LE), and a slice of chocolate cake with a layer of crème brûlée and crunchy
biscuit (10LE).

Despite
their alluring appearance, we found that looks can be deceiving. All desserts
were extremely sweet, but the strawberries were not as tasty as they looked, although
the custard cream was fresh and melted in our mouth. The caramel in the Twix
cake was barely discernible. Our favourite was definitely the date cake with
its smooth cream layer that perfectly balanced the crunchy one. The last piece
of cake also matched our expectations without blowing us away.

Tortina has another branch in Heliopolis, as well as concessions inside Metro market branches in Maadi, Nasr City, and 5th Settlement. Branches in Arkan Mall, 6th of October City and inside Metro Rehab City are rumoured  to be opening soon.