AI-generated image
Mallorcas
Mallorcas: Puerto Rican coiled sweet egg rolls with icing sugar
In Old San Juan's old-fashioned cafés and neighbourhood bakeries serve mallorcas split, pressed on a hot griddle with butter and buried in icing sugar, often with a slice of melted cheese inside for a sweet-salty breakfast (many cheeses are made with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian one). The dough is rich with egg yolks, milk and butter, coiled like a snail shell so it bakes into soft, pull-apart layers. The common mistake is under-proving the coils, which gives tight, bready rolls instead of feathery ones. Chef's tip: brush the coils with melted butter before the last rise and again straight out of the oven; that buttery skin is what holds the snowy sugar.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup whole milkwarm
- ¼ oz instant dried yeast
- 2 ⅞ oz sugar
- 4 ½ oz unsalted butter90 g soft for the dough, 40 g melted for brushing
- 1 ⅛ lb plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vegetable oilfor the bowl
To finish
- 2 ⅛ oz icing sugar
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Stir 1 cup whole milk, ¼ oz instant dried yeast and a pinch of 2 ⅞ oz sugar together and leave for 5 minutes until foamy. Beat in the rest of 2 ⅞ oz sugar and 4 egg yolks.
5 minStep 2: Put 1 ⅛ lb plain flour and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl, pour in the milk mixture and mix to a soft, sticky dough. Knead for 8 minutes, then add the 90 g of soft 3 ¼ oz unsalted butter a little at a time, kneading for 5 minutes more until the dough is glossy and smooth.
13 minStep 3: Put it in a bowl greased with 1 tsp vegetable oil, cover and leave somewhere warm for 1.5–2 hours, until doubled.
100 minStep 4: Divide into 12 pieces. Roll each into a rope about 40 cm long, then coil it loosely into a flat spiral and tuck the end underneath. Space them on two lined trays.
Step 5: Brush the coils with half the melted ⅔ oz unsalted butter, cover loosely and prove for 45 minutes until puffy and almost doubled. Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan).
45 minStep 6: Bake for 15–18 minutes until golden on top and the bottoms sound hollow.
17 minStep 7: Brush straight away with the rest of the melted ⅔ oz unsalted butter and sift 2 ⅛ oz icing sugar thickly over. Serve warm, or split and toast on a griddle before dusting.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mallorcas take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Reform torta
Belgrade pastry shops have sold reform torta since the early twentieth century, and it is still the cake Serbian families bring out for birthdays, weddings and the slava. Three thin layers of walnut meringue, crisp at the edge and chewy inside, are stacked with a dense chocolate butter cream made with egg yolks cooked over steam until thick. It is very rich, so cut thin slices and serve with strong coffee. The usual slip is beating the butter into a chocolate mixture that is still warm, which melts it and splits the cream; let it cool to room temperature first. Chef's tip: assemble the cake the day before; overnight in the fridge the meringue softens a little and the cake slices cleanly with a hot knife.
Flan de queso
Denser and tangier than a plain egg flan, flan de queso is the dessert Puerto Rican families bake for birthdays and Nochebuena, often a day ahead so it can chill overnight. Cream cheese is blended with evaporated and condensed milk and eggs, then baked slowly in a water bath on a layer of amber caramel, so it turns out glossy, sliceable and somewhere between a flan and a cheesecake. The common mistake is baking it too hot, which makes it puff, crack and weep; low heat and a water bath keep it silky. Chef's tip: take the caramel to the colour of a dark copper coin, as a pale caramel tastes only sweet and a bitter edge balances the rich cheese.
Ma'amoul
Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.