The secret ingredient for perfect Om Ali

Matilde Vicenzi Italian puff pastries are ideal for preparing this traditional home-made Arabic dessert for Ramadan

There are several ways to prepare Om Ali, one of the most traditional sweets enjoyed during Ramadan. But there is one special, unexpected ingredient that can be used to prepare this crispy dessert: Matilde Vicenzi Millefoglie d’Italia puff pastry sticks, the only ones on the market made with 192 layers of puff pastry.

Puff pastry is traditionally obtained by spreading a layer of butter between the folds of the dough, which is then gently folded back on itself several times. Through the decades, Matilde Vicenzi has transformed this traditional pastry technique into an art and has developed a wide range of products, including the Millefoglie d’Italia sticks. What makes these pastries so special is the secret recipe they are made from, which was developed by the founder of the brand Matilde Vicenzi in the early 1900s and has been preserved through the years in a booklet that is kept today at the company’s headquarters near Verona.

Millefoglie d’Italia puff pastry sticks are characterised by a distinctive flavour of premium butter and a consistency that is perfect to safeguard the crispiness of the product even when mixed with the nuts, milk and heavy cream requested for the Om Ali.