Mantecadas are spongy

pastries Pastry refers to a variety of doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bak ...

originating in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Perhaps the best known mantecadas are from Northwestern Spain, being a traditional product of the city of Astorga,

province of León León (, ; ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the c ...

, as well as the nearby Maragateria comarca. They taste very much like

pound cake Pound cake is a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold. They are sometimes served either dusted with powd ...

. Other Spanish regions also prepare mantecadas. There is a factory producing mantecadas in

Sardón de Duero Sardón de Duero is a municipality in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 668 inhabitants. There is a factory producing mantecadas in Sardón de Duero, as ...

Valladolid Province Valladolid () is a province of northwest Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of 525,398 across a total of 225 municipalities, an area of , meaning a population density of 64.77 people ...

and another in

Maliaño Maliaño is a village in the Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Camargo, Cantabria, Camargo (Cantabria, Spain). The town is located near the Bay of Santander, 5 km from the Santander (Cantabria), regional capital. It is the location of th ...

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

. The ''Casa Salinas'' bakery in

Tudela, Navarre Tudela is a municipality in Spain, the second largest city of the autonomous community of Navarre and twice a former Latin bishopric. Its population is around 35,000. The city is sited in the Ebro valley. Fast trains running on two-track electri ...

, reputed for its excellent mantecadas, closed down in January 2011. Mantecadas are baked in square or rectangular box-shaped paper ''"cajillas"'' instead of in the typical muffin round paper cups. The mantecada leaves a characteristic cross-shaped silhouette on the paper when it is removed. In the

Alt Maestrat Alt Maestrat (; ) is a Comarques of the Valencian Community, comarca in the Provinces of Spain, province of Castellón (province), Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. Municipalities The ''comarca'' of Alt Maestrat is composed of nine muni ...

''comarca'' the mantecada square paper cups are known as ''"caixetes"''. There is a type of cake known as mantecada in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

where the whole is cut into pieces after baking. Certain brands commercialize packed mini-mantecadas in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and Latin America. Mantecadas should not be confused with mantecados, a much denser, non spongy very different type of pastry.

Mantecadas de Astorga

The most famous Mantecadas are the ones prepared in Astorga town under the name Mantecadas de Astorga. Their ingredients are

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

Butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

is essential in the preparation and differentiates the mantecadas de Astorga from average

bizcocho Bizcocho ( or ) is the name given in the Spanish-speaking world to a wide range of pastries, cakes or cookies. The exact product to which the word ''bizcocho'' is applied varies widely depending on the region and country. For instance, in Spain ...

or magdalenas (muffins).Mantecadas recipe
/ref> They are a protected product as per

Geographical indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town or region). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, is inten ...

in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

References

External links

Other type of Mantecadas (not of Astorga) recipe

Mantecada con amor. Colombia style
Spanish pastries Castilian-Leonese cuisine Quick breads Sweet breads {{spain-cuisine-stub

Mantecadas de Astorga

See also

References

External links