The origin of Pan de Cádiz is uncertain.
According to legend, back in the 19th century during the Peninsular War, the French laid siege to the lands of Cádiz, exerting pressure and control over the population and preventing supplies and food from entering the city.
The wheat shortage led people to use one of the ingredients that was abundant at the time—almonds—to make bread. It is said that at the Customs Palace there was a large shipment of almonds destined for export, but they couldn’t ship it out. So the people of Cádiz decided to make a bread based on almonds, a kind of marzipan.
This legend is rather questionable, since it’s unlikely anyone would use a more expensive ingredient than wheat to bake bread.
Others attribute the origin of this dessert to the pastry chef Antonio Valls Garrido, a 19th-century resident of Cádiz. He created the bread in the shape of a chest so that sweet treasures—candied fruits, egg yolk paste, angel hair squash, or sweet potato cream—could be stored inside.
Today it is a widely enjoyed dessert throughout Spain during the Christmas season.
Fillings for Pan de Cádiz vary greatly, although the most traditional are candied egg yolk and candied sweet potato. The version I’m sharing has yolk marzipan and toasted almond marzipan.
Ingredients for the wrapping marzipan:
- 250 g raw ground Marcona almonds.
- 250 g powdered sugar.
- 1 egg white.
- 1 wafer.
Ingredients for the filling:
first filling (egg yolk)
- 150 g raw ground Marcona almonds.
- 150 g powdered sugar.
- as many egg yolks as needed to make a homogeneous dough.
second filling (toasted almond)
- 150 g toasted ground Marcona almonds.
- 150 g powdered sugar.
- 1/2 Egg white
Method:
1- To make the marzipan base, separate one egg white from its yolk and place it in a bowl.
2- Add raw ground Marcona almonds and sifted powdered sugar to prevent lumps. Mix well until you form a compact dough like the one you see in the photo; just mix, there’s no need to knead.
3- Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
4- In another bowl, prepare the second filling by mixing the ground toasted Marcona almonds with the egg white until well combined.
5- For the first filling, in another bowl mix the raw ground Marcona almonds, the egg yolk, and sifted powdered sugar. Mix well until a dough forms.
6- Divide the marzipan dough into three portions.Weigh them so that one portion is 25% larger than the others; this will be the piece used to wrap the loaf.
7- Place a wafer on the base. On top of it, lay one of the three pieces of marzipan dough rolled out with a rolling pin to about 0.5 cm thickness. Spread the toasted almond filling over this marzipan layer.
8- With the other small piece of marzipan dough, roll out another 0.5 cm-thick sheet and place the yolk filling on top.
9- With the remaining piece of marzipan dough, roll out a large sheet that will serve to wrap the entire loaf.
10- Using a knife, make diagonal slashes and brush the entire surface with beaten egg.This step helps give the pan de Cádiz a golden, glossy finish and ensures an even bake.
11- Bake in the oven at 200 °C (top heat only) for 10 minutes, or until the surface is nicely golden brown.
You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:
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