Piononos from Santa Fe, the recipe for the most irresistible Granada rolled biscuits


The pionones They were created at the Casa Ysla bakery in Santa Fe.in Granada, by Ceferino Isla, who gave them their peculiar name in honor of Pope Pius IX, and they began to be sold in 1897. They are delicious snacks and not too cloying contrary to what it may seem.

This is one very typical and simple Andalusian recipe. It doesn’t have much mystery, but it is necessary to have some skill with griddle-type cakes, since we have to achieve a spongy but consistent texture at the same time, so that it doesn’t crumble when unmolded.

He pastry yolk filling We will leave it as is, to taste the flavor of the yolks, or we can add a little cinnamon to taste to give it another touch of flavor.

Interior of the pionons of Santa FeMarina Corma

Recipe information

  • Preparation time: 30 minutes
  • Cooking time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 1 hour (plus 2 hours of rest in the refrigerator)
  • Rations: 8 units
  • Category: cake shop
  • Type of cuisine: andalusian
  • Calories per serving (kcal): 245

Ingredients of Santa Fe piononos

For the pastry yolk:

  • 4 eggs M
  • 90 g of water
  • 180 g white sugar
  • 15 g of corn flour (Maizena type)

For the syrup:

  • 30 g white sugar
  • 30 g of water

For the sponge cake:

  • 3 eggs M
  • 60 g whole milk
  • 60 g white sugar
  • 20 g wheat flour
  • 60 g of corn flour (Maizena type)

For decoration:

Ingredients of Santa Fe piononosMarina Corma

How to make Santa Fe pionones

We will start by preparing the pastry yolk. To do this, we put 4 M eggs and 90 grams of water in a saucepan. We mix very well.

We mix the eggs and the water from the yolk of the Santa Fe piononosMarina Corma

Next, we add 180 grams of white sugar and 15 grams of corn flour, and integrate into the mixture.

We mix the sugar and corn flour from the yolk of the Santa Fe piononosMarina Corma

Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens. We transfer to a bowl and cover with transparent film. Let it cool at room temperature.

We cool the pastry yolk of the pionons of Santa FeMarina Corma

We prepare the syrup by putting 30 grams of white sugar and 30 grams of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and when the sugar dissolves, remove from heat. We let it cool completely.

We cool the syrup of the Santa Fe piononosMarina Corma

While the syrup cools, we prepare the sponge cake. Preheat the oven to 180ºC with heat up and down. We grease and line the base of the baking tray with parchment paper, set aside.

We prepare the tray to bake the Santa Fe piononesMarina Corma

We separate the yolks and whites of 3 M eggs.

We separate the yolks and the whites for the Santa Fe piononos cakeMarina Corma

We mix the 3 yolks with 60 grams of whole milk until they are completely integrated, set aside.

We mix the yolks and milk of the piononos cake from Santa FeMarina Corma

We beat the 3 egg whites with 60 grams of white sugar until they are stiff, set aside.

We whip the whites of the piononos cake from Santa FeMarina Corma

Sift 20 grams of wheat flour and 60 grams of corn flour over the egg whites.

We sift the flour from the piononos of Santa FeMarina Corma

We integrate into the mix with enveloping movements.

We integrate the flour into the Santa Fe piononos cake.Marina Corma

When the flour is completely integrated, we pour the mixture of yolks and milk and integrate it completely into the mixture with enveloping movements.

We integrate the yolks of the Santa Fe pionono cakeMarina Corma

Pour the dough onto the lined tray and smooth it carefully so as not to break the air bubbles in the dough. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until we see the edges turning slightly golden.

We spread the dough for the piononos cake of Santa FeMarina Corma

We remove from the oven and place a sheet of parchment paper of the same size on the cake, turn it over and unmold. If the sides of the cake are stuck, carefully separate them with a spatula before unmolding.

We cover the Santa Fe piononos cake with greaseproof paper.Marina Corma

We carefully peel off the parchment paper with which we had baked the cake. Next, we brush the cake with the syrup that will have already cooled.

We take off the paper from the cake of the pionons of Santa FeMarina Corma

We spread a uniform layer of pastry yolk about 2-3 mm thick across the entire cake sheet. We reserve the rest of the pastry yolk to top the piononos.

We spread the bud of the Santa Fe piononesMarina Corma

We roll the long part, pressing lightly so that it is a very compact roll. We wrap the roll with transparent film and put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours so that it becomes a little firm.

We roll up the pionones of Santa FeMarina Corma

After the resting time, we cut the roll into 8 portions of approximately 4 cm.

We cut the pionones of Santa FeMarina Corma

We put the rest of the pastry yolk in a bag. We stand the cupcakes up and put a portion of the yolk on each one.

We put the yolk on the pionones of Santa FeMarina Corma

Sprinkle 30 grams of white sugar over the yolk topping and toast it with a blowtorch.

We roast the sugar from the piononos of Santa FeMarina Corma

We serve.

Piononos from Santa Fe ready to serveMarina Corma

Easy Preparation Summary

  1. We mix the eggs with the water
  2. Add the sugar and corn flour, mix well
  3. We thicken, remove from heat, cover with film and let cool.
  4. We prepare the syrup
  5. Grease and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
  6. We separate the yolks and the whites
  7. We mix the yolks with the milk
  8. We whip the egg whites with the sugar
  9. We sift the wheat flour and corn flour
  10. We integrate with enveloping movements
  11. We add the yolk mixture and integrate with enveloping movements.
  12. We transfer the mixture to the baking tray, smooth it out and bake for 8-10 minutes at 180ºC.
  13. We place a sheet of parchment paper on the cake, turn it over and unmold it.
  14. We peel off the parchment paper with which we had baked the cake and brush it with the syrup
  15. We spread a layer of pastry yolk on the cake
  16. We roll up, wrap in film and put in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
  17. We cut into portions
  18. We stand the cupcakes up and decorate with a little pastry yolk
  19. We sprinkle them with sugar and toast them with a blowtorch.
  20. We serve