Candied Spaghetti Squash

candied with light-colored honey

candied with darker-hued chestnut honey

The giant Mallorcan ensaimada featured on the PBS show SPAIN On The Road Again with Mario Batali is filled with candied spaghetti squash which in Spanish is called cabello de angel (angel's hair). The baker says he cooks the squash with sugar, honey, and lemon zest into a paste. He stretches the ensaimada dough really thin just like strudel, spreads lard all over, places the squash on one long end before rolling tightly into a log, coils into a snail shape, and lets the coil rise for 12 hours. When Mario took a bite of the ensaimada and proclaimed it was the best pastry he has ever eaten I just had to make this sweetened squash.

I've cooked spaghetti squash before and I like that it does not get mushy, retains its vermicelli shape, and it stays a little bit crunchy even after it's cooked. Candied, it has a slight chestnutty flavor that is milder than kabocha. I used the light-colored candied squash as topping for Danish pastry and the second to fill the Mallorcan-style ensaimada I made a few days ago. I stretched the dough as much as I could which is not difficult to achieve resulting in an ensaimada that has a very flaky crunchy crust and the softest crumb. I agree with Mario, this ensaimada is delicious, so heavenly delicious. I love them more than the egg and butter loaded Filipino ensaimada which is closer to brioche than to Mallorcan ensaimada.

small size ensaimada

Danish pastry topped with a scoop of candied squash

Ensaimada adapted from THE CUISINES OF SPAIN by Teresa Barrenechea

Makes three 8-inch diameter coils

2½ teaspoons instant yeast
2/3 cup whole milk, heated to lukewarm
3½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
6 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for oiling rolling pin, work surface, and baking sheets
½ cup lard (do not use butter)
½ cup confectioner's sugar for dusting

• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/3 cup of the warm milk and let stand for 5 minutes. In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the remaining milk, eggs, olive oil, and the yeast mixture and mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Replace paddle with dough hook and knead on medium for 4 to 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic film, and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Oil a work surface, a rolling pin and 3 baking sheets. Roll out 1 portion into a 12 x 6-inch rectangle. Spread lard and fold in half lengthwise. Spread lard and fold again in half lengthwise. Roll again into a 12 x 6-inch rectangle and starting from a long side roll up into a tight 12-inch cylinder. Shape it into a snail-like coil. Repeat with the 2 remaining dough portions.
• Place the coils on the oiled sheets, cover with plastic film and let rise at room temperature overnight or at least 12 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the coils for 30 minutes, or until they are airy and golden. Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks. Dust with confectioner's sugar and cut into segments just before serving.

Previous ensaimada entries are here and here.

Bicho-Bicho & Goldilocks Bakeshop®-style & Spanish Ensaimada Recipes

I received several email asking for the recipe for the Filipino donuts, bicho-bicho, which I wrote about when I reviewed Michael Chabon's new novel.
This recipe is quite large and may be halved. I prefer eating these donuts simply rolled in white sugar. They have to be consumed right after frying, which I think won't be a problem because they are very good.

Bicho-bicho

1. Put in a mixing bowl:

1 cup lukewarm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups bread flour

2. Beat thoroughly. Cover and let rise for ½ hour. Add:
¼ cup melted butter or grape seed oil
1 cup light brown sugar
2 well beaten eggs
1½ cups bread flour

3. Beat well. Cover and let rise again until dough is light, about 1 hour. Punch down.

4. Add more flour if dough is too soft to handle. Turn out into a well-floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Cover each and let rest for 10 minutes.

5. Roll dough to ½-inch thickness and cut into 6 x 1-inch strips. Set on baking sheets, cover and let rise for 1 hour.

6. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, roll in granulated sugar. Enjoy!

There were also a lot of readers who emailed me for the Goldilocks Bakeshop ensaimada which unfortunately I don't have. I don't think anybody, except for the people who work in that bakeshop, has the exact recipe. I have one from my cookbook FAVORITE FILIPINO RECIPES by Pat Limjuco Dayrit which comes closest to the Goldilocks Bakeshop ensaimada in taste and texture. It takes the whole day to make, though.

Ensaimada
½ cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 level teaspoon dry yeast
1 cup flour
6 egg yolks
9 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups bread flour
extra butter, softened
1 cup grated cheese, preferably queso de bola
sugar

1. Put lukewarm water in a stand mixer bowl. Add sugar and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Add flour and mix with a wooden spoon.
3. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for 40 minutes to 1 hour or until double in bulk.
4. Add egg yolks, sugar and butter to flour mixture. Add to this the 2 cups of flour and knead with dough hook attachment.
5. Cover and let rise again in warm place for 3 hours.
6. Divide dough in 12 portions. Roll each portion to ¼-inch thick. Spread butter and sprinkle with grated cheese.
7. Roll up, starting from one end and twist like a knot.
8. Place into an ensaimada mould or large muffin pan lined with parchment then greased.
9. Keep in a warm place to rise for 4 hours.
10. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 - 12 minutes.
11. Brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar and grated cheese.

Ensaimada (Spanish)
And for Spanish nationals who live outside Spain and would like to make ensaimada, here is the recipe adapted from THE CUISINES OF SPAIN by Teresa Barrenechea. This one doesn't have a single pat of butter, it uses lard and she explains that in Majorcan saim means lard. I have made this ensaimada and I think this is the best recipe.

Makes three 8-inch diameter coils
4½ teaspoons yeast
2/3 cups whole milk, heated to lukewarm
3½ cups flour, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cups sugar
2 eggs
6 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for oiling rolling pin, work surface, and baking sheets
½ cup melted and cooled lard
½ cup confectioner's sugar

• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/3 cup of the warm milk and let stand for 5 minutes. 
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and add the remaining milk, eggs, olive oil, and the yeast mixture into the well. Using a spoon, gradually pull the mixture into the well, stirring as you do. When a uniform dough has formed, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky; if dough is too sticky work in a little more flour. Gather the dough into a ball, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Oil a work surface, a rolling pin and 1 or 2 baking sheets. Roll out 1 portion into a 10 x 6-inch rectangle. Brush with lard and fold in half lengthwise. Brush with melted lard and fold again in half lengthwise. Roll again into a 10 x 6-inch rectangle and starting from the long side, roll up into a tight 10-inch cylinder. Shape it into a snail-like coil. Repeat with the 2 remaining dough portions.Place the coils on the oiled sheets, cover with kitchen towel and let rest in a warm spot overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the coils for 30 minutes, or until they are airy and golden and springs back when pressed with a fingertip.
• Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks. Dust with confectioner's sugar and cut into segments just before serving.

Ensaimada

I have always wanted to make the Hizon style ensaimada which resembles the original Spanish ensaimada, i.e. flat and whitish inside, not the fluffy yellow almost cake-like Goldilocks ensaimada. The Hizon ensaimada I remember was golden brown and flattened further with a hot iron or maybe spatula to caramelize the sugar topping. It was delicious, bready, sweet and perfect with hot chocolate.

In one of my Spanish cookbooks the recipe for ensaimada is leavened with baking powder and has lard, not butter. It is shaped into one gigantic coil and left to rise for 7 hours before baking. I will try that recipe next time I make ensaimadas.

Today I used a Spanish recipe I found online. I was able to make two 7-inch ensaimadas using half of the dough and the other half I made into a coffee cake loaf filled with Nutella and hazelnuts.

Update: Goldilocks-style and Spanish Majorcan recipes here

topped with butter, sugar, and grated young gouda

Nutella and hazelnuts coffee cake loaf

Here is the ensaimada recipe that uses baking powder and lard:
5 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup lard

• Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, eggs and water. Knead to form a smooth dough. Roll dough and spread the lard. Roll and fold several times until the lard is absorbed. Halve the dough (or use one dough recipe but it will be HUGE) and roll each dough as thin as possible. Roll the dough from one side like a poster. Coil the rolled dough loosely on 2 large baking sheets, cover with damp towel or plastic wrap and leave to rise for 5 - 7 hours. Bake in a preheated 300°F oven until golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar before slicing.