Christmas, beyond family dinners and meals, is the time of year when sweets enjoy great prominence. Choosing them well makes all the difference in any celebration.
THE BOW TIE
The oldest chocolate shop in the capital dates back to 1852, when it opened its initial premises in Puerta del Sol, and is a must stop every Christmas. Its current owners are Rocío Aznárez, great-great-granddaughter of the founder, and her husband Carlos Lemus, who explain that during these holidays "we always bring out seasonal chocolates, whether they are orange blossom, cinnamon, in the shape of Christmas trees or chestnuts, because that is what customers demand the most. And if there is something that sweeps above all, it is the chocolate bow ties, highly sought after by both parents with children, grandchildren with grandparents or great-grandparents to give to each other". Where: Villanueva, 14.
BALBISIANA
An expert in the world of sweets, its owner Paula assures that among her most demanded products is 'the advent calendar', which is filled with truffles, chocolates, cookies in the shape of Christmas. Another classic is the salted caramel cake with chocolate, vanilla cream and pecans. It has a crunchy sablé base with salted caramel, chocolate ganache and a cream made with cream and natural vanilla. The crunchy touch is given by pecans that decorate in the shape of a crown." It also has other sweets such as Christmas charlotte, a chocolate and red fruit cake; the Yule log, a delicious chocolate cake, mixed with cream and decorated with red fruits and edible flowers. There are also delicious star-shaped millefeuille based on puff pastry with cream and cream decorated with lots of raspberries, as well as nougat truffles or peanut truffles, both dipped in milk chocolate.
Where: https://balbisiana.com
LARDHY
This Madrid classic is a must for lovers of Christmas sweets, since in its shop on the ground floor they prepare daily, apart from their renowned French-style pastries, a fruit and vanilla panettone, chocolate and Sicilian orange panettone and the Three Kings cake, created by Ricardo Vélez, known as the Cocoa Chef thanks to the success of Moulin Chocolat. The Pâtissier and Maison Glacée. They also have their famous marrón glacé, as well as a wide variety of nougat and the mythical marzipan figurines.
Where: Carrera San Jerónimo, 8.
GOURMETS IN LA MALLORQUINA
It is the most recent of all and was born from a collaboration with the gastronomic journalist, Mapi Hermida, who has created, together with the Mallorcan, 'the gourmets'. It is a limited edition sweet that, as she explains, is based "on an evolution of the renowned cinnamon roll, with my personal touch. My childhood has always been linked to La Mallorquina, and I was excited about this collaboration. My grandparents lived a few meters from Puerta del Sol, and all our family gatherings and celebrations have always been linked to this bakery. To me, La Mallorquina smells like home." This dessert is covered with gianduja, an Italian pasta made from a hazelnut grind accompanied by chopped hazelnuts and can be purchased in two versions, in individual format or in a tart version.
Where: https://pastelerialamallorquina.es. Individual gourmet price: €3.50
MAISON KAISER
This Parisian corner in Madrid stands out for its artisan stamp, since all its elaborations are handmade, with natural ingredients, and without using dyes or preservatives. Among their holiday bestellers are the mythical logs, to choose between chocolate or chestnut; its Stollen, a kind of bread with marzipan, nuts, candied fruit and pieces of almond paste, and, finally, the Galette des rois, a traditional 100% French cake made with butter and almond cream.
Where: https://maison-kayser.es
SCARCE
This house, with more than 130 years of history and originally from Huesca, makes a pastry based on the richness of raw materials, all natural, and works in an artisanal way. In these festivities, the Crown Catherine of Aragon stands out, prepared, according to sixteenth-century cooking manuals, based on marzipan, rose water, pastry yolk with almonds and caramelized natural rose petals. Its nougat is also well known, with more than thirty flavours, where the most demanded is the tres cremas, combining the triple cream of candied butter (natural, mocha and truffle) that overlap with layers of artisan marzipan of the same flavours and Valrhona chocolate.
Where: Zurbano, 25.
CASA MIRA
Casa Mira Nougat
A classic among classics. Founded in 1842, it was the first nougat shop in Madrid with artisanal manufacturing and traditional ingredients, and today it still maintains its original essence. The first mention has to be its artisan nougat, among which the one from Jijona, made with toasted Marcona almonds and rosemary honey; the hard, created with lightly toasted Marcona almonds and rosemary honey, and the toasted yolk, with Marcona almonds, candied egg yolk and toasted sugar. They also have empiñonados, made with a dough of exquisite flambéed marzipan, and the best selected national pine nuts, as well as marzipan eels, manually decorated one by one.
Where: Carrera de San Jerónimo, 30.
MANERO
This restaurant is once again launching its famous Christmas sweets. During this period, it has a gourmet shop in its premises in Madrid, where it sells a wide selection of nougat ranging from hard, soft, stone, toasted yolk and chocolate with whole almonds. The novelty is that they are launching a collection of Manero artisan pastas, a recipe from Carlos Bosch's own family and made in their own workshop by Ana Valero.
Where: Claudio Coello, 2.