European Pastries in Egypt: A History of Colonialism, Modernity and Class If one takes a walk in any of Egypt’s bustling streets, they are bound to find local bakery shops displaying varieties of petit-fours, “Lancashire” biscuits and millefeuille, side by side to the most traditional of items. These European baked goods do not necessarily strike Egyptians today as foreign, instead they are deeply rooted in the local culture. From fruit cakes and Marie biscuits, to high tea etiquette and French pastry techniques, I argue that the presence and popularity of such food and foodways in Egypt’s history are products of a complex and multilayered process of Euro-centric modernization. This modernity first arrived with the colonizer in the late 19th century but as his physical presence left, it stayed lingering behind as an extension to his body and a reminder of his superiority. What further complicates this, however, is that through colonial ramifications on education, culture and economies of the early 20th century, we see evidence in cookbooks, menus, catering orders, film and textbooks that point to the fact that elite Egyptians themselves savored this western taste with minimum resistance. In examining the aforementioned materials, issues of class are found to intersect with colonialism as engrained class ideals, aspirations (Shanahan 2014) and anticipatory socialization (as coined by Robert K. Merton) are steered by European standards. By the 1950s, however, things began to change. Rules of "good taste" set by those in power are found to be democratized by those of the lower social hierarchies, as Egypt entered into a new Nasserist era. What was once foreign and exclusive to a few yet powerful Europeanized aristocracy, with time, became accessible and attainable to all classes and in many cases adapted and transformed to meet their own tastes. Historical and archival material as well as analyses by political and social historians come together to provide an understanding of how food becomes a space for such political and social complexities in history. This a case study in which sugar dusted pastries, jam filled biscuits and frosted cakes, transform from being extensions of the colonial body to becoming instruments of reclaiming power and authority in 20th century Egypt.