In the Philippines, people often enjoy ensaymadas – pastries lathered with butter and dipped in sugar. You can also find versions topped with thinly grated curls of cheddar cheese and sometimes local ingredients like purple yam (ube), coconut and salted egg.
Ensaymada dates back to the 17th Century on Mallorca Island, part of the Balearic Islands of Spain. Originally it was called ensaïmada de Mallorca, after the word saïm, which means lard in Catalan. Pork lard helps to create croissant-like layers. Some recipes today replace the lard with butter to create a similar effect. My family recipe involves a combination of shortening and butter to maintain that layered crumb.
The traditional Spanish recipe is regarded so highly that it's been marked as a 'protected geographical indication' to ensure the recipe stays true to its heritage.
Enjoy ensaymada as a snack. Source: Supplied
The ensaïmada made its way to the Philippines with Spanish colonisation. However, it's spelt ensaymada across the archipelago. Similar to the Spanish version, the Filipino ensaymada is brushed with lard or butter once it's taken out of the oven. This seeps into the layers of the bread. But while the Spanish one is heavily dusted with icing sugar, the Filipino one is sweetened with a generous amount of butter and caster sugar.
Sometimes I make the batter the night before and continue to cook in the morning so that I can bake in time for breakfast.
My mum tells me about fond memories from her childhood in the Philippines. She remembers that every afternoon around 2pm someone rode their bike around town to sell bakery goods, which comprised an assortment of Filipino bread. She would view the bread display on offer and most times select her favourite cheese-covered ensaymada from the pack. The sound of the bike bell would notify people in the area that the bakery goods were available, not dissimilar to the ice-cream trucks that drive around Australian suburbs playing music from their speakers.
Ensaymada dough can be quite sticky; buttering your hands can assist in kneading the dough with ease. After kneading, the dough needs to prove for at least an hour during the initial stage and a further 20 minutes before baking, but the longer the prove, the better. This allows time for fermentation and adds flavour. The dough can be proved for up to 12 hours. Sometimes I make the batter the night before and continue to cook it in the morning so that I can bake it in time for breakfast.
When I was a child, I remember having ensaymada as a lunchbox snack and was always excited when I knew it was in my bag. On these days, I looked forward to morning recess and counted down the minutes in anticipation to tuck into my ensaymada. I also remember the name ensaymada was similar to the word empanada, the name of meat-filled pastries – I'd often get these two confused.
Leave ensaymada to prove before baking. Source: Supplied
These days I enjoy an ensaymada for breakfast with a cup of tea or coffee or for an afternoon snack. When I make them for my family they always respond with excitement, which makes me enjoy baking them even more.
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Filipino ensaymada
Makes 12
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- ⅓ cup sugar and ¼ cup for topping
- ¼ cup butter and ¼ cup extra for topping
- ¼ cup vegetable shortening
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp instant yeast
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1 cup grated cheddar (optional)
Method
- In a small bowl, add the yeast to ¼ cup of warm water, then set aside for 5 minutes to allow time for the yeast mixture to activate.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, activated yeast mixture, egg and egg yolks, milk, ½ cup of water and salt.
- Combine in a mixer or knead by hand for 1-2 minutes until the mixture roughly comes together.
- Add ¼ cup of butter and shortening to the mixture and continue to mix for 10 minutes.
- Pick up the dough, form it into a ball and add canola oil to the bowl, before placing the ball of dough back in.
- Cover tightly with a lid or cling wrap and let prove for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
- Divide the dough into 12 even pieces and roll each into logs. Then, roll each log into a scroll, tucking in the top and bottom pieces.
- Place them on a baking sheet and prove for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 150˚C and bake for 20 minutes.
- Brush the ensaymada with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven, then let cool completely.
- Top with a generous layer of butter and dip them into sugar. If you want the cheese version, top with butter, sugar and grated cheddar.
