What would happen if a panettone and an ensaimada had a child? Someone in Sarrià has dared to ask. And more importantly: to bake it.
The result is called ensaïmattone and it’s as good an idea as it sounds. The mestizo creature between the most famous Italian winter bun and the pastry jewel of the Balearic Islands was born in the oven of a baker Joe Moretones, head pastry chef of the historic Forn Boix in Sarrià.
He was the one who came up with the idea of mixing the panettone dough, so fashionable in recent years in Catalonia, with the traditional recipe of the Balearic ensaimada, where it is usually in season, to create this delicacy.
The formula is actually simple, a panettone dough bathed with saïm – which is what they call lard in Menorca – instead of butter. Or what is the same: the spongy texture of panettone, with the deep and traditional flavor of a good Mallorcan ensaimada. The result: the best of both worlds.
On our visit to the bakery we tried a version filled with angel hair, and another with sobrasada, delicious, but there is also a more gocha one with cream or the classic one, without filling. They also make it in XL size, for 9.90 €, and it comes with a good layer of powdered sugar on top, perfect for a hangover breakfast or a long after-dinner snack.
Of course, it is not always available. The ensaimatone is baked on a one-off basis, so if you want to try it you’ll have to do what the whole of Barcelona is starting to do: go up to Sarrià, try your luck and cross your fingers.