The sweetest route in Madrid: where to get the 'indisputable' sweets to close out Christmas

Not everything is going to be meat and shellfish.

A good dessert is essential.

On these dates, sweet snacks shine, like the ones that star in this tour of the capital depending on what you most want.

Panettones

In recent years, this spongy brioche bun with raisins and candied fruits has been gaining ground in our country...

.

Craft workshops, gourmet shops and supermarkets fill their shelves at this time with this Christmas dessert from Milan (Italy), which many have fallen in love with.

Panettones from Panem.

Its versatility means that there are many varieties: with raisins, chocolate chips, fruit, coffee, lemon... They prepare it with this last ingredient in

(Zurbano, 25);

its Passion-lemon panettone triumphs every Christmas, thanks to its sourdough and fruity touch.

They also have the traditional and the chocolate with orange (from 15.50 euros).

As of the December long weekend, they begin in

(Teruel, 26) to make their panettones of various flavors... Up to 100 a week made with natural raw materials and sourdough that they feed every day.

The most sold is the madrettone gianduja (28.50 euros).

Other artisan workshops to be taken into account by fans of this sweet bread are

(Fernando VI, 2), which offers three varieties, chocolate, fruit or chestnut, in two sizes (from 27.50 euros/half a kg),

(Alcalá, 77), chocolate with candied orange and vanilla with fruit, which they make with double fermentation dough (29.50 euros), and

(Alonso Heredia, 25), where the traditional and the of chocolate (from 25 euros/half kg).

The centennial restaurant

(Carrera de San Jerónimo, 8) also presents its two panettones in its store, fruit and vanilla and chocolate and Sicilian orange (29.50 euros).

ROSCONES

The quintessential sweet of Spanish Christmas gastronomy has become a true delicacy in recent years, thanks to the efforts of artisan pastry chefs and workshops who excel every year to offer the best, either traditional or with different fillings.

Don't miss out on trying the one from

(Fernán González, 46), the workshop of the five García brothers, from Esquivias (Toledo), which managed to be crowned the Best Roscón in the Community of Madrid last year.

It only has the traditional variety and the cream filling, and in the size of half a kilo (27.90 euros).

The one from

(Prim, 1), prepared by the pastry chef Elena Campal, has won first place in the Contest for the Best Artisan Roscón in the Community of Madrid (24.95 euros per half kilo)

Roscón de Pan.Delirio.

Another place to keep in mind is

(Doña Urraca, 15), in the Tirso de Molina market, a stall owned by an Italian who arrived in Spain 15 years ago.

The sourdough with which he makes the roscón (with three fillings, in addition to the traditional one) is similar to that used with panettone, which gives it fluffiness.

This year they incorporate citrus brought from Valencia (from 11.50 euros/300 g traditional; 30 euros/600 g with cream, cream or truffle).

(Juan Bravo, 21) and the bakery chain

(several locations) are other recommended on this route.

The first -which boasts of making its roscones (without filling) using organic sourdough flour, stone-ground, certified without additives- is committed to limited production, so it is advisable to reserve (25 euros half a kilo).

For their part, the five bakeries in Madrid of El Horno de Babette, famous for their artisan bread, also stand out for their sourdough roscones and available every weekend in December (28.40 euros/half a kilo).

chain

put one of their most mythical seasonal products on sale, their emblematic roscón, which come in a classic version, filled with cream or truffle (from 19 euros).

's locals also

have their roscones made daily and by hand, respecting the original recipe of its creator Antonio Rodilla.

There are classics and those filled with cream (from 16.80 euros).

NOUGATS, polvorones, marzipans...

Nougat from Casa Mira.

There is no Christmas dinner that does not end with the traditional tray full of nougats, polvorones and marzipan for dessert.

The best artisan nougats in Madrid (and in Spain) can be found at

(Carrera de San Jerónimo, 30), a hundred-year-old pastry shop that has been making them with traditional ingredients since 1852. Marzipans and polvorones also stand out, as well as delicacies of the house: the empiñonada (flambéed marzipan dough, 29 euros/half a kg).

(Mayor, 10),

(San Onofre, 3),

(Pozo, 8) and

(Pl. de San Miguel, 13) are other workshops in Madrid with a long tradition of selling nougat, marzipan and polvorones.

Precisely, the latter disappear from the shelves of

(Velázquez, 55) as soon as they go on sale.

This artisan pastry shop, famous for its cakes, only offers its small polvorones for a few weeks a year, which they make with toasted almond and wheat flour, almonds, Iberian butter and cinnamon (14.95 euros/box of 20 units).

shop (several locations), which has just opened a new store in the Glorieta de Quevedo, boasts of having mantecados among its specialties (12 euros/330 g).

small detour

Nougat palm tree by Fátima Gismero.

We left the capital a bit to go to Pioz, a small town in Guadalajara 42 km from Madrid where

winner of the Revelation Pastry Chef Award in the 2021 Madrid Fusión edition. There, her three employees (she included ) work hard these days in the artisan production of their famous donuts, croissants, biscuits, biscuits, tarts, honey chocolates and bread that have made them famous.

Now at Christmas, all these delicacies are joined by nougats, panettones and other delicacies invented for the season, which this year consists

18 euros).

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more