Traditional bakery: Forn del Santo Cristo, Palma de Mallorca

On first sight, the tiny Forn del Santo Cristo store in the maze of alleys in Palma’s historic center resembles one of the many ensaimada vendors selling the unmistakable boxes to tourists from all over the world. But the impression is all wrong: the bakery looks back on more than a century. Indeed, it is a very traditional Palmesan bakery with a modern touch. And one of the rare places where you still get the original Mallorcan gató, almond cake.

The bread and pastry shop was founded in 1910 and has been baking specialities from the island ever since. Until today, the Forn del Santo Cristo is dedicated to traditional recipes and methods and considers itself „especialiste en ensaimades i pattissos“. And it is – no doubt about that. Next to the yeast pastry famous for the island, you get all kinds of fresh bread, baguette, buns and croissants, cocas de patata, cocarrois, and of course, empanadas. My favorite is filled with guisantes (meat and peas).

There is a second, more spacious Forn del Santo Cristo on Carrer Miquel, with a few small tables to sit down and relish their goodies. And just recently, Santo Cristo introduced a tienda on-online for their ensaimadas only. They come in three sizes and eight most yummy flavors, like chocolate, marzipan and classy albaricoque – directly to your house. Is coffee ready, yet?