Xuixo (; also known as ''xuxo''; ) is a viennoiserie pastry from the city of

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

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 ...

. It is a deep-fried, sugar-coated cylindrical pastry filled with

crema catalana ''Crema catalana'' 'Catalan cream' or ''crema cremada'' 'burnt cream' is a Catalan and Spanish dessert consisting of a custard topped with a layer of caramelized sugar. It is "virtually identical" to the French ''crème brûlée''. Like all cust ...

. Commonly eaten for breakfast or

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

, it is honored as ''Producte de la Terra'' () by the Department of Agriculture, Farming and Fishing of the Government of Catalonia. It is assumed that this pastry originated in 1920s Girona in a pastry shop owned by Emili Puig in the Street Cort Reial. A French pastry shop showed Puig the preparation of cream-filled pastry and this inspired him to create the ''Xuixo''. This pastry is very popular not only in Girona but has been also accepted in the surrounding areas and can also be found in

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (in ), or simply Castellón (), is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Costa del Azahar by the Mediterranean Sea. Th ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. In the second half of the 20th century it was one of the most demanded product in the ''Xurreries'' (pastry shops, ) and nowadays it is commercialized by a candy brand that sells them not plain but with a chocolate icing.

The legend

According to a legend in Girona, the invention of the ''Xuixo'' has to be credited to ''el Tarlà'', a very sympathetic person that is very present in the legends of this area. This acrobat that entertained the citizens in a quarantine during an epidemic fell in love with the daughter of a pastry chef. Once, when he visited his beloved girl, her father appeared, and he hid in a bag of flour. Unfortunately, he sneezed (which sounds like ''xui-xui'') and was discovered. Before the pastry chef could get angry, he promised to marry his daughter and to give him the recipe of a special pastry: the ''Xuixo''. He named it after the sneeze that betrayed him. Nowadays, a figure of ''el Tarlà'' can be seen every year during the spring festivities when its copy is erected at the place where he had entertained the people of Girona.

The popular ''Xuixo'' procession

The foundation "''Fundació Oncolliga Girona''" and the government of Girona organize the popular procession ''Marxa del Xuixo''. It is a procession in which the whole family participates and strolls through the streets of Girona to discover the city's natural surroundings. After the walk the participants are given ''Xuixos'' that have been prepared by the board of pastry chefs of Girona.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Legend about the invention of Xuixo

Originating

Fried Pastry Filled with Cream
Catalan cuisine Custard desserts Deep fried foods Spanish pastries Stuffed desserts