Last Ramadan, sweet-toothed iftar guests all over Cairo were scrambling for konafa with mango and eish saraya from Le Carnival, pushing and shoving to get the last raspberry frozen yoghurt cake from Mandarine, while only a select few knew about the Om Ali bil toot (Om Ali with blackberries) option. Pasty shop after pastry shop have been opening up across the city, and while this may be a bad sign for our weight, it can only be a good thing for Ramadan. You only have a couple of days left… Pick what sounds interesting and invite yourself to a friend's house as an excuse to buy these fabulous Ramadan sweet iftikasat (novelties). The Baklawa Cake from Sedra An unexpected member on the sweet iftikasat list, Sedra is a relatively old pastry shop in Heliopolis. Unlike the usual baklawa presentation--small little puff pastries dipped in honey syrup--Sedra's version is large and round, the diameter of a pie, and houses crushed pistachios and raisins in two layers of very buttery puff pastry. The pastry is not sweetened--only the nuts inside--making the cake much more consumable. Although there is an overabundance of butter, this baklawa version makes for a very nice and original dessert to appear with at an iftar. It is also not flashy, and you are less likely to be noticed as you devour it before anyone else gets a chance. Sedra: 31 Shams al-Din al-Zahaby Street, Heliopolis. 02-26904160 Baklawa: LE85 The Om Ali with Crème Brulee from Le Carnival Yes, you read that right. It's the epitome of novelty sweets, where the East meets West in bread, milk and sugar. This Ramadan, pastry shop groupies have been raving about this new addition to the Ramadan menu. Le Carnival serves their regular Om Ali, topped with a layer of crème brulee--in a pyrex dish to ensure its safe arrival at your destination. The Le Carnival delivery service is not available during Ramadan (probably due to the mad rush for Om Ali with crème brulee) but it is recommended that you call in the morning (for example 11AM) if you want to reserve one before they all run out for the day. Le Carnival has many branches. We purchased from the Dokki branch: 48 Michael Bakhoum Street, Dokki, Giza. 02-33388902 Om Ali with Crème Brulee: LE240 Mille Feuille Konafa from L'Amandine The idea of mixing mille feuille cream, fruit and pastry with konafa creates a festival for the senses. Although konafa with fruits has been done, and konafa with cream is an old tradition, this combination is apparently very successful. L'Amandine staff is very excited about the dish and advise you to order it (they deliver) to your home early on because, unlike many of their other desserts, it is made once during the day only. L'Amandine: 12 al-Messaha Square, Dokki. 02-37600361 Mille feuille konafa: LE166
