Ensaimadas are the Baleares pastries par excellence, so, and even though I'm not in the least close to being a baker, I had to make them. It was a bold move, I didn't have the necessary ingredients nor the skills to substitute them. But I had the determination.

The results were mixed. What I created probably did not taste or look at all like an ensaimada and was pretty bland for my taste, but it was still somewhat enjoyable, and I did end up eating it all (over a few days). I wasn't sure whether to write my recipe here or just translate the recipe as it should be made - so I'm doing a mix of both - in case you want to try it with American ingredients. Perhaps you'll be luckier than I.

Ensaimadas can be made plain or with sweet fillings, alas, I wasn't able to figure out /how/ you would fill them (the pastry is not easy to work with), so I made them plain.

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Ensaimadas Ingredients 4 cups all purpose flour (or 1/2 kilo harina de fuerza a.k.a. baker's flour) plus more for dusting. 1 package instant yeast (or 40 g leavadura prensada) 1 1/4 cup water 3 egg yolks 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup olive oil 1 cup butter (or 250 grams lard) Instructions In a large bowl, mix the flour with the yeast and mix in 1/4 water. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise until it doubles in size. This should take several hours. (The original recipe calls for dissolving the yeast in 1 1/2 Tbsp. water and mix it with the flour. I couldn't get to have anything close to a dough with so little water). Once the dough has doubled, add the rest of the water and mix. Mix in the egg yolks and sugar, cover again and let rise for a few more hours, until it doubles in size again. Mix in the olive oil and butter. Lightly flour a large working area as well as your hands. Take a chunk of dough and shape into a ball, then roll it with your hands until it's a long strip. Then shape into a spiral form. Grease a baking pan, transfer each roll onto it, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for about 6 hours. Preheat the oven to 300F. Bake the ensaimadas until they are golden. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Adapted from a recipe, at rectas.com