Ca’n Joan de s’Aigo, Fornet de la Soca · Since the 17th century

The ensaimada

Name: The ensaimada
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Mallorca
Ingredients: 500 g strong flour; 15 g fresh yeast; 2 eggs; 120 g sugar; 150 ml water; 100 g pork lard, soft (or butter); A pinch of salt; Icing sugar

A coil of dough laminated with lard, left to rise overnight, baked and dusted with icing sugar: the ensaimada is Mallorca’s signature and the only pastry in this guide with its own octagonal box and its own protected origin.

Taste profile

Sweet5

Rich6

Fresh1

Crunch3

Bitter0

Pair it with

A cup of thick Mallorcan hot chocolate, or an almond ice cream in summer.

The name comes from saïm, the Mallorcan word for lard, which is laminated into a sweet dough with the patience of a croissant and coiled into a spiral. The ensaimada has been documented on the island since the seventeenth century and holds a protected geographical indication; the plain version is the connoisseur’s, the filled ones, cabello de ángel, cream, apricot, are for the afternoon.

Ca’n Joan de s’Aigo in Palma has served it with hot chocolate since 1700; Fornet de la Soca bakes the finest crumb; Pomar is the family classic. Every Palma bakery makes it, and the airport sells it in boxes to be carried onto the plane like a hat.

The home version · serves 6

Ingredients

500 g strong flour
15 g fresh yeast
2 eggs
120 g sugar
150 ml water
100 g pork lard, soft (or butter)
A pinch of salt
Icing sugar

Method

Mix flour, yeast, eggs, sugar, water and salt into a smooth elastic dough; rest one hour.
Roll into a very thin rectangle on an oiled surface, spread the soft lard over the whole surface with your hands.
Roll the sheet into a long thin rope, stretching it as you go, then coil it loosely into a spiral on a tray.
Let it rise 12 hours in a cool room until it triples.
Bake at 190 °C for 15 to 18 minutes until golden; cool and dust generously with icing sugar.