The spiral pastry that defines Mallorcan baking, coiled from a dough enriched with saïm pork lard, proved slowly, baked flat and buried under icing sugar.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
The ensaïmada takes its name from saïm, the Mallorcan word for pork lard, which is what separates it from every other coiled pastry in the Mediterranean. Records of the coil date to the 17th century on the island, and it now carries a protected geographical indication as Ensaïmada de Mallorca, which sets the ingredients and the spiral form. Palma bakeries sell it plain or filled with cabell d'àngel, a squash preserve. Forn Fondo alone stocks more than twenty versions behind its Modernista glass.
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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg
Tip from the editors. The long cold prove is not optional. Rushing it gives you a bread roll instead of the airy layers.
Forn Fondo has baked on Carrer de la Unió in Palma since 1911, now run by the fourth generation of the Llull family behind a Modernista shopfront.
OrderA plain ensaïmada, the benchmark against which the filled ones are judged.
TipBreakfast here costs about €4 with a coffee, which undercuts every café on the Born.
Ca'n Joan de s'Aigo has served hot chocolate, ensaïmada and almond ice cream on Carrer de Can Sanç in Palma since the original shop opened in the 1700s.
OrderOrder the hot chocolate with an ensaïmada to dunk.
TipThree centuries of trade and it still costs less than a hotel breakfast. Open until 21:00.
Fornet de la Soca occupies the old Forn des Teatre on Plaça de Weyler in Palma, where Tomeu Arbona rebuilds Mallorcan recipes from convent archives.
OrderCoca with peppers, cut by the slice at the counter.
Why locals goTomeu Arbona bakes from recovered convent and household recipes, so the counter changes with what he has rebuilt that month.
TipStock is baked in small runs and sells out. Go in the morning if you want the coques.
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