The Santa Fe piononos are one of those sweet that do not go out of style, although they usually have a discreet role in the patisseries of the big cities. Because it is not something that one takes on a whim; one goes for piononos expressly, without delay, because it is a very peculiar sweet that is not so easily found outside Andalusia.
Yes, today there are many pioneers, but not all are the same and from one region to another the sweet may share only the name.
GRENADIEN BY TRADITION
It is quite curious the belief that many people have that its origin is located in Italy. But it is not like that, in fact it is said that the Muslims They already made a sweet in their day very similar in our country, although it is not completely documented.
Pius IX portrayed by Adolphe Braun (1875).
What is known is that the pionono recipe has been kept safe until the year 1897, date on which this sweet came to light from the hand of Ceferino Island. Ceferino, of Cantabrian origin, decided to open his pastry shop on Calle Real in the Granada town of Santa Fe, putting The first rock of what would be one of the most famous sweet temples in our country.
Santa Fe, which in its time was the place where the capitulations of the Discovery of the New World, witnessed a new moment in history. Ceferino was very devoted to the Immaculate Conception, virgin whose dogma had been proclaimed by Pope Pius IX. The pontificate of Pius IX was the second longest in history, after the very Saint Peter and Pius IX (who was Pío Ninth but was known as Pío Nono) everything happened to him; it was a time when The Vatican came to wobble.
But this dogma served Ceferino as an excuse to honor Pope Pius Nono a few years after his death. Although it is said that the recipe for the piononos already existed, it is possible that it was Ceferino who bring out these candies with his personal touch. Because there were piononos in Madrid, and he already named them Clarín in The Regent a decade before those of Ceferino appeared. But the pioneers of Madrid they were elongated and they had nothing to do with each other, they just shared name.
Statue of Ceferino Island in Santa Fe, Granada.
The piononos recipe Santa Fe de Ceferino Island has hardly changed in these 125 years of existence. The pioneer is still a baba coiled that is crowned by a good layer of custard cream which, in turn, has been toasted by the flame of a blowtorch. The formula is simple and the pionono was all the rage. And it is not surprising, because its spongy texture, together with the juiciness of the cream and the burnt touch at the end, make this cake a round sweet on the palate, one of those that even the most heartless like.
Is how to make the cake it was not by chance. Ceferino thought of representing the body of the pontiff with the cake, being the pastry cream the skullcap with which the Pope covered his head. Possibly if Ceferino had had the technological advances that exist today, the sweet would surely have a greater resemblance But who cares?
Gonzalo Isla continues the family legacy of Casa Isla, founded in 1897.
THE BOURBONS, ALWAYS SO SWEET
Almost every time we talk about a sweet that revolutionizes society, there is usually a greedy monarch behind it. The case of the piononos was not going to be less, even more with the surname Bourbon, who has proven (along with the Windsors) to be one of the most greedy royal houses of Europe. Because when the Bourbons saw a bakery that they loved, they turned it into Official Supplier of the Royal House. It happened with Isabel II and El Riojano, a pastry shop to which he went "in secret", and with house look, A must have at Christmas.
The same thing happened with Casa Isla, but this time it would be King Alfonso XIII who would try for the first time a pioneer in the year 1916. The king actually showed up there to hunt in the neighboring town of Lachar together with his friend and comrade Julio Quesada, Duke of San Pedro de Galatino.
Don Julio, as greedy as the king, was often seen around Casa Isla and the piononos were part of his diet, so on this trip he took some to the monarch, who he went crazy with the sweets and immediately wanted the small bakery of Ceferino Isla became a supplier to the Royal House. And this was a boom for the phenomenon, despite the fact that during the Republic it could not hold that title due to the obvious. Today, the pioneers have conquered practically all the big cities of our country, and they can be found with the most varied flavors, but like those of Casa Isla none, that is clear.
The Little Duchess, Madrid.
IN THE VARIETY IS THE SPICE
More than a century of life goes a long way. Despite the fact that Casa Isla maintains the usual recipe, little by little they have been opening up to other palates. And it is that the pionono is now also chocolate, tangerine, irish coffee, from strawberry to rose or lemon tea. It also serves as inspiration for Michelin star restaurants such as Alcuneza Mill (Guadalajara) or Orobianco (Alicante), who have not hesitated to go to the pionono to close their gastronomy with mastery.
In Andalusia it is easy to find good piononos, and not only in Granada, although they are typical of this region. In Seville you have to try the famous ones The Bell Confectionery (Sierpes, 1), although the form It has nothing to do with it with the people of Granada, since here the pionono is more of a sponge cake with icing sugar.
In Madrid it goes without saying that if there are some pioneers who drive the staff crazy, they are the ones from the little duchess (Ferdinand VI, 2). Here Oriol Balaguer does his own version of the one from Santa Fe, with its delicate biscuit and a crown that he already has a different texture but that remains very faithful to the usual pionono. Is there anything that is not perfect in La Duquesita?
Piononos from Los Álamos Pastry Shop, in Miraflores de la Sierra (Madrid).
Of course if we look for a more faithful version to the pionono of Santa Fe we have to move to the town of Miraflores of the Sierra, place where since the fifties the Los Alamos Bakery (Alamos, 7). It had to be a family from Granada that wanted to bring the pionono tradition to Madrid, and they were so successful that the pastry shop ended up being known as The House of the Pioneers.
Here they lead more than half a century making this delicacy. Although its size is somewhat smaller, we found a pionono closer to that of Ceferino Isla, delicious, with a creamy texture Y a vibrant flavor. Furthermore, you can even find sweet as difficult to find outside its area of origin as the breaths of the Alpujarras, which makes us lose our minds completely.