Ensaimada
Mallorca's signature breakfast. Buy a whole one in a Palma panadería; the spiral has to be tall, soft and lightly charred.
At a Glance
- — You dislike enriched pastry
Mallorca's spiral pastry is a study in lard-enriched dough, fermented slowly into a light coil that melts on the tongue. It arrives under a thick dusting of icing sugar, a delicate start to the morning. Look for the real thing in a Palma bakery: tall, soft, lightly charred. Order it filled with cabello de ángel or sobrasada if you like, but the pastry is the point.
How it got here
References to the coil pastry appear in documents from the seventeenth century although the origins of the recipe likely predate written records. The guild of bakers in Palma regulated production by the eighteenth century to ensure the use of specific proportions of flour and lard. This practice formalized the artisanal standards that define the current product. The name derives from the Catalan word for lard which remains the essential fat for the structure of the dough. While once a luxury item for local celebrations the pastry became a symbol of island identity through the growth of trade and transport in the twentieth century.
Where it sits
The Balearic Islands consist of four major landmasses set in the Mediterranean Sea. Mallorca dominates the center of the archipelago with limestone mountains rising sharply from the northern coast while the interior plains remain dedicated to almond and olive groves. High summer temperatures bring drought to the fields and crowd the ports with seasonal visitors but the autumn rains revive the scrubland. Accessible by ferry from the mainland or flight to Palma the islands maintain a rhythm governed by the sea and the seasonal shifts in light that soften the limestone glare.
What to eat and drink
Cabello de ángel provides the traditional filling made from caramelized pumpkin strands stewed with sugar and lemon. Bakers also produce plain coils to be torn by hand or versions topped with sobrasada a raw cured sausage of ground pork and paprika. Breakfast usually includes these pastries alongside coffee or hot chocolate. Locals drink hierbas mallorquinas after the meal a liqueur distilled from anise and Mediterranean herbs including rosemary and fennel gathered from the surrounding hills. This spirit aids digestion after the heavy lard content of the dough.
Balearic Islands: the whole region
Four islands doing four different jobs: Mallorca, big enough to hold mountains, a serious city and quiet corners; Menorca, the calmest, with the best coves; Ibiza, which is two places — the clubs and a rural north almost nobody…
Minimum 5 days · better 10 days · deep 2 weeks
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In Balearic Islands
In Balearic Islands
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