Osmalieh

Shredded pastry is pressed into two separate moulds and cooked in clarified butter or in the oven; the thick cream is spread over one layer and the second goes on top like a lid. It is then sliced, and crushed pistachio and syrup go over it. The strands are deliberately not browned much, so the slice comes to the plate a pale yellow.

Not knafeh

The two get confused because both are built on the same shredded pastry, but they are not the same sweet. Knafeh holds melted cheese and is eaten hot; osmalieh holds cream and is eaten warm or cold. They sit side by side on the counter, and asking which is which is the shortest route.

The name and where it is made

The name is tied to the Ottomans, and the story attached to it says the sweet was served at the palace table. Today it is made across the Levant from Damascus to Beirut and is strongly associated with Lebanese cooking as well. In Damascus sweet shops it comes forward in Ramadan.

When, and with what

After the evening meal, or with afternoon tea. Plain coffee beside it; sugared coffee lands on top of an already sweet plate. One slice feeds two, and it is sold cut from the tray.

Where a traveller finds it

In the sweet shops around the Old City in Damascus, in the cream section of the larger counters. The cream has to be fresh: in a slice that has stood a long time the cream stiffens and the pastry goes damp.