Miguelitos

Miguelito is a sweet meat whose creator was born in La Roda in Albacete. The small pasty was named after the pastrymaker's friend who first gave them a try. But first, a little history.

Manuel Blanco was born in 1925. He began working in a cake shop where he learnt the craft of confectionery. After doing the military service in Valencia he worked for a time in the old Casino Avenida with his brother Gabriel.

He later traveled and lived in Pamplona, where he perfected his craft. It was there that in 1960 he created. As we said it was a close friend whose name was Miguel the first one who tasted the brand new created pastry. He was so delighted with it that Manuel Blanco decided to call it Miguelito, sometimes called Miguelitos de La Roda, referring to Blanco's home town. Today, the name La Roda is almost inseperable from that of Miguelito. This small pastry has certainly helped put the town on the map!

Thanks to the strategic location of La Roda on the highway between Madrid, Alicante and Murcia, the fame of the dessert spread throughout the country and even to other countries. Since then, this dessert has been made across Spain and has even been adapted by various pastry chefs. Miguelitos can now be found with other fillings other than the traditional cream filling. In some pastry shops you will find miguelitos filled with dark or white chocolate. However, to this day they are not as popular as the orignal.

Miguelitos can therefore be bought from most pastry shops and supermarkets up and down the country. They are usually sold in boxes of twelve which means that they are perfect for sharing - or maybe not as they are so tasty! Some pople like to put them in the fridge so they are cold before they eat them, but this is up to personal taste.

If you ever take a trip to Spain, be sure to try Miguelitos, an experience you won't regret. Or, if you can't wait to get to Spain, you could always try making some Miguelitos at home by following our recipe below:

Miguelitos

Ingredients: miguelitos can either be done with or without the cream (though some people say it is the best part).

• 500 grams of frozen or fresh puff pastry
• 1 egg (for glazing)
• 250 grams of sugar
• 250 grams of honey
• 250 ml of water
• Flour
• Icing sugar (for sprinkling)

For the cream

• 600 ml of milk, it can be skimmed or semi skimmed)
• 8 tbs of sugar
• 2 sachets of vallina sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 tbs of constarch
• 1 branch of cinnamon
• 3 pieces of lemon peel

Preparation (without cream):

• Defrost the puff pastry and extend over a flat surface with flour
• Cut in squares of 4 cm (1.5 inches). Put the squares in a baking tray
• Glaze the puff pastry with whisked egg
• Bake the puff pastry according to the manufacturer's instructions. Normally 20 minutes at 200º C*
• Put the water in a pan and add the sugar and honey. Bring to boil and heat until all the ingredients are dissolved, remove from the fire and let it cool a bit (though not too much, otherwise the mixture hardens
• When the puff pastry is ready, dip each square in the mix. Let them soak well and put on an oven rack so they drain.
• Sprinkle with icing sugar, though you can also decorate with chocolate, nuts, coconuts or whatever you can come up with.

Preparation with cream:

• The first four steps are the same.
• In a pan add half of the milk with the vanilla sugar, cinnamon branch and lemon peel.
• In a bowl, whisk the egg with the sugar and the rest of the milk.
• Add this mixture to the milk with vanilla sugar little by little and stir until it thickens
• Cut the puff pastries in half and put some of the cream, then joint the two halves, like a sandwich
• Sprinkle sugar glass. It's a good idea to cool them in the fridge until served. Enjoy!