Mallorca's art of baking

Sweet happiness

Autumn in Mallorca includes mushrooms, wine and small round doughnuts that no one who loves sweet pastries can resist : bunyols. The curls are among the traditional pastries on the island. Made of a potato and yeast dough, they are fried in hot fat until golden brown and then dusted with powdered sugar.

Tempting aroma

So they are small calorie bombs, but they taste delicious. Especially in October and November the Bunyols seduce with their tempting scent.

It is not uncommon to be able to buy them freshly prepared at small stands, directly on the street, still warm in your hand. But they are also available at village fairs outside the high season.

Profiteroles with cream

Profiteroles, on the other hand, are made of choux pastry and resemble German cream puffs. Profiteroles are filled, sometimes with cream, sometimes with a chocolate or vanilla cream inside.

The recipes always differ a little from family to family and bakery to bakery. Profiteroles are also offered , especially in October and November.

Sweet variety

But fortunately, Mallorca has a whole range of sweet pastries to offer anyway. There are the cocas de albaricoques, pastries to which apricot halves add zing.

Or the cocas de torró, which contain turrón and are therefore available during the Christmas season.

Not to forget the coca de patata, made with potatoes, flour, eggs, sugar and lard. And which tastes really good dusted liberally with powdered sugar. By the way, the Tramuntana village of Valldemossa is famous for its cocas de patata.

Delight with powdered sugar, apricots, figs

And Mallorca wouldn't be Mallorca if it weren't for the ensaïmada. The rich lard pastry hasit all. Low calorie is different. Sometimes the snails are covered in powdered sugar.

Then they are topped with apricots or figs or come in the sweet and savory version with a few slices of Mallorca's paprika sausage Sobrassada, pumpkin and sugar.

There are also filled with a chocolate or vanilla cream. And sometimes it hides angel hair inside. These are candied pumpkin threads. The Mallorcans call them cabello de ángel. Even rose jam sometimes gives the ensaïmada that certain something.

Tradition with a seal of quality

The islanders have been enjoying ensaïmadas for several hundred years, since the 17th century. And they taste good around the clock.

On the breakfast table, the rounds cut a good figure next to the coffee. As a dessert, they form the sweet conclusion to a fine meal. And they are a popular souvenir for festive occasions, of course in the maxi version.

The real ensaïmadas even come with a seal of quality: the Protected Geographical Indication (Indicación Geográfica Protegida). In this respect, the ensaïmadas are something like the sweet ambassadors of Mallorca. In 2022, 45 tonnes of ensaïmadas were produced in Mallorca!

Crespells and Robiols

But the island is also known for its small cookies like the crespells. Sometimes they have a heart shape, then they lie appetizingly in flower or circle form in the displays of the bakeries.

They are particularly popular around Easter. But because no one can really resist these crispy pastries, many bakeries offer them all year round.

The Robiols are still missing. They are crispy on the outside and surprise on the inside with a soft filling of jam, cottage cheese or boiled-down pumpkin.

Traditional baking rediscovered

If you're in the mood to see the full range of Mallorca's sweet baked goods in a single bakery, Tomeu Arbona is the man to see at his Fornet de la Soca on Plaça de Weyler.

The Mallorcan has dedicated himself to "archaeological gastronomy, " loves to research Mallorca's monasteries and manor houses for ancient traditional recipes that have been passed down. And brings what he found there, again on the baking sheet.

And at the annual sweet fair in Esporles, the Fira Dolça, baking enthusiasts also show off their skills. In 2023, it takes place on 1 October. Downright irresistible!