The Tastiest Pastries in Spain We Can’t Get Enough Of
If there’s one thing that the Spanish do right, it’s pastries. Spaniards have a love affair with baked goods and all things sweet, made evident by the bakeries that can be found on just about every street corner. Whether it’s for breakfast, coffee hour, or anytime in between, eating pastries in Spain is a simple, daily delight. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorites that we just can’t get enough of that you need to sink your teeth into!
Fartons
Photo by riverac on VisualHunt / CC BY-NC-SA
There’s no better treat in the summer than an ice-cold glass of Spanish horchata paired with some light, fluffy fartons. Long and cigar-like, these spongy pastries are lightly glazed with sugar on top for some sweetness. Hailing from Valencia, this delight was created for the purpose of dunking into horchata, another local specialty. Outside of Valencia, you can find another pastry that’s quite similar, melindros. A bit firmer and more cookie-like, locals love to give their melindros a dip in their coffee or hot chocolate before eating them. Both of these are two pastries in Spain that you just can’t miss.
Coca
Cocas are long, oval-shaped pastries that look like flatbread. There are several types of coca out there, ranging from sweet to savory, and are eaten for different occasions. Sweet coca are made with sugar and are often topped with candied fruit, nuts, and more sugar. While you can find coca all year round, this pastry is most popular to eat at Easter and San Juan (June 24).
See more: Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth with These Spanish Dessert Recipes
Ensaïmadas
Photo by Rafel Miro on Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-ND
Ensaïmada, a pastry that originates from Mallorca, gets its name from saïm, a type of pork lard that’s an essential ingredient. While from the Balearic Islands, you can get these pastries in Spain all over these days. They have a unique shape, like a coil, and are dusted with powdered sugar after they come out of the oven. Ensaïmadas are a popular breakfast pastry, but are also eaten for merienda, or the afternoon coffee hour.
Magdalenas
If you’ve ever had French Madeleine cakes, you already have an idea of what Spanish magdalenas taste like. These little muffins are a popular breakfast treat made from olive oil, flour, and sugar, and sometimes have lemon or orange zest thrown in for an added touch of flavor. These are one of the most popular pastries in Spain for their simplicity and for being highly addictive!
Palmeras
Photo by noeliarcado on VisualHunt / CC BY-SA
If you’ve ever had French Madeleine cakes, you already have an idea of what Spanish magdalenas taste like. These little muffins are a popular breakfast treat made from olive oil, flour, and sugar, and sometimes have lemon or orange zest thrown in for an added touch of flavor. These are one of the most popular pastries in Spain for their simplicity and for being highly addictive!Palmeras are wildly popular pastries in Spain, and come in two sizes, big and small. Big palmeras are easily the size of your two hands side-by-side, and the small ones, palmeritas, can be eaten in a couple bites. Palmeras are made from rolled-up puff pastry and shaped into hearts. They can be lightly dusted with sugar, or coated with chocolate or an egg-yolk glaze. All varieties are equally delicious, so be sure to try each one!
Xuixos
Xuixos are a rich, decadent dessert from Girona in northeast Spain. These pastries are deep-fried and coated in sugar, so they are sweet and crispy on the outside. As if that wasn’t sinful enough, xuixos are then stuffed with irresistible crema catalana. With something this good, you definitely won’t want to share!
Come try all the best sweets and treats with Food Lover Tour on our Sweets Lover Tour in Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville!
