Majorcan ensaimada: the breakfast of champions
Palma de Mallorca. landed . Now it's time to look for the assigned belt to collect the suitcases, identify it. Sometimes it is complicated. Not if you come from Mallorca, the only destination that is 100% recognizable by the mountains of octagonal boxes that rotate making the delicious ensaimadas on the tire.
If this summer you travel to Mallorca and when you return you want entertain your family or friends with these sweet spirals , we give you some ideas of which ones to buy and where to buy them. You only have to choose smooth or stuffed (and pay the 8 euros surcharge, if you fly with our beloved Ryanair ).
The ensaimada among the luggage: a classic
Apart from the “it will be wonderful…”, there is nothing that evokes the image of Mallorca more than those little cardboard boxes tied with a string to store the ensaimadas. Its recipe does not have too many mysteries: lard (which in addition to being responsible for its characteristic flavor, is responsible for its name, since saïm is butter in Catalan), water or milk, eggs, flour and sugar . The secret is in the dough, in their quality. The mixture is kneaded into long cylinders and left to ferment in a spiral shape, originally, in a wood oven.
The podium of the most popular takes it the "smooth" , that is, the one that does not have any filling, and that traditionally served with almond ice cream (a very abundant dried fruit on the island) or with a good cup of hot chocolate (especially if it's Christmas day, and you've gone to Midnight Mass) . The "silver" corresponds to that of burnt cream (burnt flan) but, from there, there is a whole range of varieties -angel hair, chocolate or peach...- more or less innovative that can even go beyond the sweet, as they did in the mythical Can Miquel in the center of Palma and which, to everyone's misfortune, closed only a few months ago.
Ensaimada stuffed with Es Forn Nou cream
When buying them to take away, you will find a thousand options in terms of flavors and sizes (there are ½ Kg, ¾ Kg and 1 Kg, between 15-25 euros depending on whether it is smooth or filled), but our recommendation is to always do it in the small and artisan ovens and reserve it in advance.
THE MOST APPETIZING OVENS
1.**Can' Joan de s'Aig o (Sans, 10. Palma de Mallorca) **.
It is the most mythical chocolate shop on the island, founded no less than 1700 and that is now in its ninth generation. Its name (San Juan del Agua) comes from the glasses with ice that its owners brought from the mountains with which they gave to their clients. The ensaimadas are juicy, tender and served warm , better accompanied by their homemade ice creams (meringue or almond milk are perfect for this) and the place has its charm, with reminiscences of art deco and some other details of dubious taste. Mario Batalli and G. Paltrow during their tour of Spain to prepare their book they ended up here. Do not go back when you see their website.
2.**It is Forn Nou (Carrer de Sant Joaquim, 8)**
White chocolate, chocolate pearls, covered in chocolate or with sobrassada with slices… this is it. one of the most innovative places , who are constantly creating new recipes. They have three offices in the capital and send to all of Spain.
3.** Forn des Teatre (Weyler Square, 9) **
Next to the Principal Theater of Palma. It is another of the most famous, due to the tradition of its ensaimadas that made daily in a rotating oven that toasts evenly , and for the beautiful modernist decoration of the establishment, founded in 1927 and that continues to be german family . To eat there: the angel hair; to go, the one with burnt cream.
Mmmmm... icing sugar
4.**Can Ignasi (Mestral, number 10. Puerto Pollenca) **
Next to the plaza de la igleisa you will find this pastry shop with a cafeteria that apparently has nothing special, but there they make some delicious ensaimadas crowned with pieces of apple that will make you change your mind. Other ensaimadas are roasted peppers and prickly pears.
5.**Pastisseria Nou (Muntanya. Sa Pobla)**
Although the town is not very touristy, here they make one of the best ensaimadas burnt cream.
6.**Forn de Can Felip (Main Street, 16 Búger) **
100% local. Do not leave it aside on your route through the north of the island. Our weakness is the stuffed with crocant chocolate and cream, but there are 55 other varieties , as original as those with assorted fruits, cream with nuts or the salty ones: cod, peppers with loin, cuttlefish, sobrassada and honey, sobrassada.
To the rich ensaimada!
THE PACKAGING ALSO MATTER As we have said, the packaging of the ensaimadas is usually an octagonal box with the (generally uncreative) emblem of the house. The good news is that the love for design and fun initiatives have been taken to fashionably dress up this iconic packaging. Coinciding with its 50th anniversary, the company amadip.esment, dedicated to the training and employment of people with intellectual disabilities, launched the project ** EnsaimadaArt, ** for which various designers, chefs and artists (from Jordi Labanda to Carme Sucalleda) devised profit-oriented labels . You can try the ensaimadas in the Boutique Cafés, where we already recommend opting for fried eggs; and the boxes buy them on the net.
*** You may also be interested in...**
- Breakfasts in the world
- All the articles of Arantxa Neyra
EnsaimadArt at Amandip Esment