Browse All Recipes

Ensaïmada

A delicious flaky pastry that hails from Mallorca. Break a piece off, dip in hot coffee, repeat.

Aug 07, 2013 2:40am
By Emma Knowles
  • 45 mins preparation
  • 25 mins cooking plus proving
  • Serves 8 - 10
    • Print
    Print
Ensaïmada
This heavenly flaky pastry is traditional to Mallorca, where it's usually made with lard. We've opted for butter to make it vegetarian-friendly, but feel free to go down the traditional road (be sure to use good lard for best results). Pair with a strong coffee or comforting hot chocolate for dipping.

Ingredients

  • 200 ml lukewarm milk
  • 2 tsp dried yeast
  • 500 gm plain flour (3 cups)
  • 180 gm raw caster sugar
  • 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 200 gm softened butter
Vanilla sugar
  • 70 gm icing sugar, sieved
  • Scraped seeds of 2 vanilla beans

Method

  • 1
    Stir milk and yeast in a bowl to dissolve, then stand until foamy (4-5 minutes).
  • 2
    Combine flour, sugar, eggs and yolk, yeast mixture and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, then knead until a soft elastic dough forms (2-3 minutes). Cover with plastic wrap and stand until doubled in size (45 minutes).
  • 3
    Preheat oven to 180C. Roll out dough on a well-floured surface to a 50cm square, dusting lightly with extra flour as you go. Spread butter over dough, then roll into a cylinder. Re-roll to a rough 15cm x 65cm rectangle, then, from the longest side, roll again into a narrow cylinder. Loosely coil cylinder on a large baking tray lined with baking paper, cover with a large upturned bowl and set aside to rise until the sides of the dough touch each another (1½-2 hours). Bake until golden and cooked through (20-25 minutes).
  • 4
    For vanilla sugar, place icing sugar and vanilla seeds in a bowl and rub to combine.
  • 5
    Dust wtih vanilla sugar and serve warm or at room temperature. Ensaïmada is best eaten the day it's made, but can be stored in an airtight container and warmed a day or two later.

The Latest from Gourmet Traveller