Kalb El Louz

Kalb el louz means the heart of the almond, and the cake is built around one: a layer of coarse semolina worked with butter, sugar and orange-blossom water, a middle layer of ground almonds, another layer of semolina on top, marked into diamonds with a whole almond pressed into each, baked and then flooded while hot with a syrup scented with orange-blossom that soaks all the way through. It is served warm, often with a glass of milk or tea, and it belongs particularly to Ramadan evenings, when pastry shops sell it by the tray and queues form for it after the fast is broken. Tlemcen and Constantine each have their own version.

What you actually see

• Almonds through the middle - the layer the cake is named for.
• Semolina soaked in syrup - the texture the flooding produces.
• Diamonds marked before baking - the cut pattern with an almond in each.
• Ramadan queues - the evening trade in the pastry shops.

When to go

Ramadan above all, when it is everywhere; available at other times in pastry shops but less reliably. One hour. Eat it warm rather than cold.

Honest expectations

It is extremely sweet and syrup-soaked, and small portions are the sensible approach. Cheaper versions use very little almond. During Ramadan the shops are chaotic in the hour before sunset and sell out afterwards.

Nearby

Tlemcen and Constantine each make a distinct version.