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
Vanilla sugar
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.
