Ensaimada

The ensaimada takes its name from saim, Mallorcan for pork lard, which is what makes it: a dough of flour, water, sugar, egg and sourdough starter is stretched extremely thin, spread with lard, rolled into a rope, coiled into a spiral and left to prove slowly overnight before baking, producing a light layered crumb quite unlike a brioche. It holds a protected designation restricting production to Mallorca. The plain version, llisa, is the traditional one; filled versions with cabell d'angel, a pumpkin preserve, cream or chocolate are common. Because they are fragile and awkward, bakeries sell them in octagonal cardboard boxes designed for the shape, and the sight of these boxes in the hand luggage of departing passengers at Palma airport is universal.

Highlights

• The coiled spiral - a spun and rolled dough baked into a flat coil.
• The lard layers - the fat that produces the light layered crumb.
• The octagonal box - the standard packaging for carrying them home.
• The fillings - plain llisa or filled with pumpkin preserve or cream.

When to go

Year-round; bakeries make them daily and morning is when they are freshest. Larger sizes are made for celebrations and can be ordered in advance.

Good to know

They are made with pork lard, which rules them out for some diets, and versions using butter or oil are not the real thing. They go stale quickly, so the box carried home is usually past its best. Industrial versions are sold everywhere and are noticeably worse.

Nearby

Bakeries across Mallorca; Palma's older establishments are the traditional reference.