The 'Ensaimada Mallorquina'

In traditional Jewish cooking there were spiral shaped desserts known as 'bulemes' leading some historians to believe their origins were hebrew while others attribute them to the Arabs during their occupation of the Ibizan Peninsula. Arab pastries called “bulemes dolces” were described as snail-like in shape and made with the same ingredients as ensaimadas, although the lard was replaced with butter. There is also a loose theory that the pastry’s spiral shape was  inspired by the turbans worn by the Moors, who occupied Mallorca from the 10th century until its liberation by King Jaume I in 1232.

It is impossible to determine the precise history of this sweet bun and there are different opinions on the matter. Tomeu Arbona the master pastry chef who refers to himself as a gastronomic archaeologist believes that the ensaimada is of Jewish origin and not Arab as some have suggested. The idea is that the ensaimaida was made with olive oil before the expulsion of the Jewish people began in 1492 but that Jews who had converted to Christianity began to make the pastry with lard to show themselves as being ‘true christians’ thus escaping the clutches of the inquisition.