The pantxineta is a typical dessert of the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

. It consists of a bun of puff-pastry filled with thick

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency fro ...

cream; it is topped with almonds and often decorated with icing sugar.

History

The Dictionary of Basque gastronomy defines the "pantxineta" as a tart of puff-pastry and custard cream created at the beginning of the 20th century in

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

by the House of Otaegui, a local patisserie, ca. 1915. Back then, San Sebastian was a summer vacation resort for the Spanish royalty, aristocrats and bourgeoisie; patisseries and restaurants thrived, usually serving food and dishes heavily influenced by the cuisine of nearby France. Apparently, the pantxineta was devised in an attempt to imitate traditional French frangipane tarts; however, instead of employing the usual almond-based frangipane filling, a baker at Otaegui used a thick custard, and covered the tart with an outer layer of puff-pastry. They initially called the desert a "frantxi-pan", which in the local basque dialect quickly evolved into "pantxineta".

Characteristics

Since its inception, the desert has grown in popularity due to its simplicity and tastiness, and it is nowadays considered one of the cornerstone desserts of basque gastronomy. It is usually served warm, either reheated or, whenever possible, straight out of the baking oven. Sometimes it is served along hot chocolate syrup, which is poured on top of the pastry.

Ingredients

The principal ingredients of the pantxineta are milk, butter,

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, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

, eggs,

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

almonds The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of th ...

and hazelnuts.

References

History
Sukaleku

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History

Characteristics

Ingredients

See also

References