Ensaymada
Ensaymada
Brioche coil, butter, sugar, grated cheese — the Filipino bakery bun that should be too much and is not.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Ensaymada.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- 2 hr 30 min
- Total
- 3 hr 20 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Ensaymada is a soft, rich coiled bun, brushed with butter, piled with sugar and grated cheese (often a processed cheddar). It is a merienda and a Christmas box. This is a home dough with a long rise. The cheese-and-sugar topping is correct, even if your pastry-chef friends flinch. A rich, brioche-like dough — flour, eggs, milk, sugar, butter or margarine — needs a long rise and a coil into a spiral. Bake until pale gold, then brush with more butter and pile on sugar and grated cheese, often a processed cheddar. The cheese-and-sugar topping is correct, even if pastry chefs flinch. It is merienda and a Christmas box. Soft crumb, sticky top. Eat slightly warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour400 g
- Milk160 ml
- Egg2 large
- Butter120 g
- Sugar, plus extra for topping80 g
- Yeast7 g
- Melting cheese, grated cheddar80 g
- Salt3.7 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Dough: flour, yeast, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, 80g soft butter. Knead until smooth. Rise 90 minutes.
20 minStep 2
Divide 12, roll into ropes, coil. Rise 45 minutes. Bake at 180°C 15–18 minutes until just gold.
20 min180°CStep 3
Cool until warm. Butter the tops, sugar, a snow of cheese. The cheese melts a little. That is the point.
8 min
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Cheddar → Edam or queso de bola
Christmas ensaymada energy.
Tips
- A processed cheese is traditional. Fancy cheddar is a glow-up.
- Overnight fridge rise makes a better crumb.
History & culture
A Spanish ensaimada that the Philippines made cheese-sweet and its own. Bakery cases from Manila to the diaspora. A Spanish ensaimada that the Philippines remade: cheese-sweet, bakery-case, from Manila to diaspora boxes. It is not Mallorca's lard spiral anymore. School snacks and merienda tables both know it. The processed cheese is part of the Filipino bakery version, not a failure to find Manchego.
Mallorca's lard spiral crossed the galleon route and picked up margarine, sugar and cheese. Mallorca's ensaimada used saim (lard) in a coiled bun. The pastry crossed the galleon route and, in Philippine bakeries, picked up margarine, sugar and grated cheese. That is a product history, not a romance of empire. You are making a rich coiled bun with a sweet-savoury topping. Call it ensaymada, not a Spanish souvenir.
Regional variation
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Ensaymada take?
3 hr 20 min all in — 30 min prep, 20 min cook, 2 hr 30 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 12 buns. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Eggs, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Oven.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at ¾ tsp.
How much sugar?
80 g (plus extra for topping) of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Cheddar → Edam or queso de bola. Christmas ensaymada energy.
Any tips from this recipe?
A processed cheese is traditional. Fancy cheddar is a glow-up. Overnight fridge rise makes a better crumb.
Can I prepare this ahead?
Overnight fridge rise makes a better crumb.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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