Ensaimada
A light Mallorcan spiral pastry of enriched dough rolled thin, coiled and baked, finished with icing sugar.
Photograph credit: Ensaimada DSCN0885 (image of Ensaïmada on Wikidata Q1344218) by Lisa Stevens from Sutton Coldfield, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
On Mallorca, it is the pastry of breakfast, bought from a bakery in a hexagonal paper box and dusted with so much icing sugar that it gets everywhere. The dough is light and sweet, and the shape is a spiral. Everything about it comes from stretching the dough very thin and coating it in fat.
The traditional fat is saim, or pork lard, which gives the pastry its flaky tenderness. Lard can be found in good butchers. Butter is a reasonable replacement. The dough itself is flour, sugar, yeast, eggs, a little oil and water, kneaded for 10 minutes and left to rise overnight in the fridge, which develops flavour and makes the dough easy to stretch. Rest the dough well between stretches. If it springs back, it needs 10 more minutes.
Divide the dough into 8 balls. Stretch each one until you can see the work surface through it, brush with melted lard, roll up into a rope, and coil into a spiral on a tray. Tuck the end underneath.
Leave to rise for 2 hours until puffy, then bake at 180°C / 355°F for 25 minutes, until pale gold. Dust with icing sugar while still warm.
Questions About Ensaimada
How long does Ensaimada take to make?
1 hour of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 10 hours 20 minutes of Chilling overnight and proving, so allow 11 hours 45 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 8.
How to Make Ensaimada
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Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the eggs, oil and water and knead for 10 minutes to a smooth dough. Rub with oil, cover and refrigerate overnight.
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Divide into 8 balls and rest for 20 minutes. Stretch each very thin on an oiled surface and spread with the softened lard.
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Roll up each sheet like a rope and coil into a spiral on a lined tray. Tuck the end underneath.
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Cover and leave to rise for 2 hours. Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F (160°C / 320°F fan).
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Brush with the melted lard and bake for 25 minutes until pale gold. Dust generously with the icing sugar.
Worth Getting Right
- Oil your hands and the surface.
- Stretch the dough gently.
- Dust with plenty of icing sugar.
Pairs Well With
Hot chocolate · Coffee · Fresh orange juice · Cheese
Leftovers and Storage
Best the day they are baked. Keeps for 2 days in a tin.
Ensaimada Nutrition Facts
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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