From the point of view of the food historian, of course, the interest is precisely that the ensaimada changed so drastically after World War II from coiled (and perhaps layered like the Mallorcan ensaimada) to something much closer to a brioche.

I had thought that perhaps this was an earlier form of the ensaimada and the current Mallorcan form was a late development. But perhaps not.

I’ll be posting about this again within the week when I am home with my books.

http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/lasang-pinoy-7-ensaimada-part-i

http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/lasang-pinoy-7-ensaimada-part-ii-the-recipe

How wrong you are when you say that “the techniques for making them and the ingredients were and perhaps still are too sophisticated (and hence too expensive) for the progeny of “New Spain” in general, including the Philippines.” Obviously you have neither been to the Philippines nor have you tried our ensaimada (spelled ensaymada). You’d be surprised at the sophisticated techniques and expensive ingredients used to produce our version of the Mallorcan pastry.

One experiment I want to try when I get home is the recipe for ensaimadas from De Re Cibaria which is the first and classic cookbook for Minorca–1930s I think. It’s a bit complicated with lots of long risings but I don’t think it would end up like a contemporary Mallorcan ensaimada. We’ll see.

I am talking about Mallorcan ensaimadas and Spanish variations. It seems to me that the techniques for making them and the ingredients were and perhaps still are too sophisticated (and hence too expensive) for the progeny of “New Spain” in general, including the Philippines.

Bob, could you just fill me in on what ensaimadas you are talking about. Are these Spanish, Mallorcan, or some you have found elsewhere? I’m just a bit unclear on that.