September 9, 2019

Sweet Dreams From Spain: 10 Spanish Desserts You Should Eat ASAP

One of the first things I noticed about Spain was that people here have a major sweet tooth.

At my university, there was a vending machine that students could get coffee from. I oppose these machines in every way. The coffee is terrible, and it takes all the joy out of the coffee-drinking experience.

But the thing I remember most about this godforsaken machine is the sugar. The default setting for the coffee was two teaspoons of sugar. Two!

I would reach for coffee in the middle of my morning stupor, only to be slapped in the tongue with sugar. In my uncaffeinated state, it seemed like a personal attack! And from that point, I started noticing more and more sugary situations happening around me.

Spaniards love sugar, and so they love dessert. The country might not be as well known for desserts its French neighbour, but if you look hard enough you’ll find that there are plenty of ways to satisfy your sweet cravings!

Here are my favourite Spanish desserts to get you started.

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Spanish Desserts You Have to Try

Ready to start exploring the world of Spanish desserts? Let’s dive into some of the classics to set us off.

Churros

Most people can think of a handful of Spanish desserts off the top of their head. And in that list, you’ll usually find churros!

These sticks of golden, deep-fried doughnut goodness are the stuff of legends and heart attacks. But forget all that you think you know about churros, because in Spain, things are a little different.

These aren’t the overly sweet, chocolate-covered calorie sticks you might have tried at fairs and carnivals as a kid. Here, churro dough is savoury! You’ll see locals dipping them in chocolate or sprinkling them with sugar to sweeten them up.

You might even see them dunking them in coffee!

That’s because strictly speaking, churros aren’t dessert. In Spain, this is breakfast food. Go to a churrería before noon, and you’ll see it crowded with locals gulping down churros with their coffee.

Get my list of the best places to eat churros in Seville!

Torrijas

If you’ve been in Spain around Easter, then you might have tried the delicious dessert that is torrijas. These are a Semana Santa staple, and essentially the Spanish version of French toast.

Take day-old bread, soak it in a mix of white wine, milk, and honey, and then fry it in olive oil. It’s simple, delicious, and a great case study in what Spanish cuisine can do with limited ingredients.

You’ll mainly find this dish in more traditional Spanish cities like Seville, and only around Easter. So apart from that, your best bet is to try making it yourself!

Get my authentic Spanish torrijas recipe right here.

Spanish Passover Cake

I’ve been baking this Spanish orange and almond cake for years, even before I moved to Spain! I love its nutty, citrus flavour as well as its moist texture and slightly chewy crust.

After I moved to Seville, I also realised that it’s part of Spain’s Jewish history. Orange and almond is a classic combo in Sephardi cooking, especially at Passover when the eating of leavened bread and cake is forbidden. If you like Spanish desserts, you should try baking this one at home.

Turrón

Sure you might have had nougat before, but this ain’t yo grandaddy’s nougat.

Turrón is a classic Spanish dessert at Christmas, and you’ll see stampedes in supermarkets when locals rush to buy it at the start of December. It’s as Spanish as sun, siesta, and long waits at the post office.

Spanish nougat: turron. — *Not your grandaddy’s nougat. Source: La Tienda.*

Imagine a moulded nougat brick made from honey, almonds, and egg whites. Turrón comes in two forms in Spain; a soft, unctuous version called Turrón de Jijona, and a hard, brittle kind called Turrón de Alicante.

As the names Jijona and Alicante might suggest, most turrón famously comes from the region of Valencia. The turrón here is so historically significant that those names are protected by Spanish law!

Like a lot of dishes from southern Spain, turrón started with the Moors. When Valencia was part of Arabic Spain, food and culture flourished. Along with the rice and saffron crucial to a proper paella, the Moors brought one of their favourite desserts. Using the classic Arab ingredients of honey and almonds, set together with egg whites, turrón was born!

Crema Catalana

While desserts in the south of Spain have an Arabic flair, Catalonia has more of a French influence. And the crown jewel in Catalan sweetness is the decadent crema catalana.

It’s often compared to the French crème brûlée, though like all good Spanish desserts, the Catalan version is a lot less complicated.

Both crème and crema are rich yellow custards topped with a fine layer of torched and hardened sugar. But in the Catalan case, the creaminess of the custard is achieved with milk and cornstarch, rather than the full cream that goes into a crème brûlée.

But in any version, what you’re looking for is a good crack when you break the caramelised sugar on top!

Xuixos

Have you ever eaten crema catalana and thought; “man, I wish I could eat this stuffed inside a croissant”.

If so, get yourself a xuixo. (Pro tip: it’s pronounced “CHOO-cho”).

This is a classic breakfast or afternoon pastry from the town of Girona in Catalonia. This city is a foodie’s paradise—aside from amazing xuixos, it’s also the home of El Celler de Can Roca, often ranked as the world’s best restaurant.

Take a sweet croissant-like pastry and fill it with a rich custard. But instead of baking it, deep-fry it. Then, because you still have some calorie issues to sort out, coat it in sugar. Xuixos are delicious, dangerous, and seductively bad for you.

Arroz con Leche

In the northern reaches of Spain you’ll find Asturias, nestled between mountains and sea. This green and rocky region is home to some of Spain’s hidden culinary gems, and some of my favourite foods in the world!

Queso cabrales is one of my favourite Spanish cheeses, and fabada is the dish I crave most on cold winter days. But there’s one Asturian food I love above all others: arroz con leche.

This super creamy rice pudding is a staple on Asturian menus, enjoyed hot or cold for different times of year. This region is the home of Spain’s best dairy products, and Asturian milk makes this dessert so velvety you’ll think you’re drinking cream straight from the udder. (In a good way).

Most Spanish rice puddings are simply flavoured with lemon, cinnamon, and caramelised sugar. But the beauty of this dessert is that you can do pretty much anything you want! The most interesting version I’ve ever tried used sweet potato, vanilla, and wasabi… Flavour explosion!

Tarta de Santiago

Spain is an amazingly diverse place. It’s like someone took 20 countries and smushed them together to make one new, totally awesome country.

The best part is that every region has its own food culture and signature dishes. And in Galicia, the most famous dessert of all is the Tarta de Santiago.

Tarta de santiago: a Spanish cake from Galicia. — *A sinfully delicious cake from the home of St. James.*

This simple cake is made with almond meal, sugar, and eggs, dusted with powdered sugar in the shape of a cross. The cross on top represents the patron saint of Galicia’s most famous city; Santiago de Compostela. The great camino de Santiago, the pilgrim walk of St. James, ends here—and this cake is a great way to celebrate the last 1,000 miles of hiking!

It’s sweet, moist, and light—everything I’m looking for in a good cake! (Well, non-chocolate cakes, anyway).

Yemas

You won’t find many people talking about the virtues of this particular pastry. That’s because yemas are something of an acquired taste.

When I first tried them, I wondered what I’d done to offend the baker. It was so sweet, so eggy, and so… well, that was it! There was nothing special about the flavour, it just tasted of pure calories.

And to be fair, that’s kind of the point. Yemas (literally; egg yolks) are just plain old egg yolks cooked over a low heat with sugar. They’re a characteristic confection from the city of Ávila, but you’ll find local variations in Andalusia too.

They might not sound special, but if you’ve got a sweet tooth you’ll adore them. It’s another great example of Spanish inventiveness with just two ingredients!

Flan: The Spanish Dessert of my Nightmares

I hate flan.

I just wanted to get that out there. It’s jiggly, but not in a sexy way. It’s eggy, in an insipid way. It has caramel, but ruins it by mixing it with custard. The name flan fits perfectly, because it’s the sound it makes when you throw it at the wall!

Flan in Spain — *Ugh. Flan. No offence if you like it, but I can’t understand why!*

But that’s just me. Most people love flan, and it’s as pan-Spanish as any other dessert you’ll find in the country. While the word flan means different things in different places, in Spain flan is essentially crème caramel.

Make a simple caramel, mix it with a custard, and then cook it slowly in a water bath. It’s a little too sloppy and sweet for my liking, but if you like caramel you will love flan!