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Dessert

Ensaymada I

A sweet, buttery Filipino pastry made with yeast dough, egg yolks, cheese, and sugar.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Ensaymada I

Oven350
Time10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Put lukewarm water in a bowl.

  2. Add sugar and yeast.

  3. Let stand for 10 minutes then add all-purpose flour and mix with a wooden spoon.

  4. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until double its bulk.

  5. Add egg yolks, sugar and butter to flour mixture.

  6. Add to this the 2 cups of flour and knead with lard.

  7. Let rise again in warm place (about 3 hours) until double in bulk.

Shape and fill

  1. Divide into 6 to 12 portions.

  2. Roll each portion to 1/4 inch thick on a greased board.

  3. Spread with butter and sprinkle with grated cheese.

  4. Roll up, starting from one end and twisting like a knot.

  5. Place each roll into an ensaymada mould lined with wax paper and greased with lard.

  6. Keep in a warm place until each roll doubles its bulk (about 4 hours).

Bake and finish

  1. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until light brown.

  2. Brush with butter and sprinkle with grated cheese and sugar.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

912Calories
26 gProtein
40 gFat
109 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Lard1 tbsp (12.8g)115
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  4. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

All-purpose flour
Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its structure and chew.
Egg yolks
Add richness, tenderness and colour to the soft dough.
Butter
Adds fat for a tender crumb and flavour, and browns the top.
Yeast
Produces gas as it ferments, making the dough rise and become airy.
Queso de bola cheese
Adds a salty, savoury flavour contrast to the sweet bread.
Lard
Adds fat that keeps the dough soft and helps it knead smoothly.

The step that matters

Let each roll double in a warm place. Under-proofing leaves the rolls dense, while over-proofing makes them collapse and bake up coarse. Yeast activity depends on warmth, so the rolls need time to reach full volume before baking.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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