Pastry Run 1: Mary Grace Cafe: Ensaymadas and Cheese Rolls

Hello and Welcome to Pastry Run. After having taken trips and side trips to different bakeries, it is almost inevitable to deviate a little from our cakes and be curious once in a while to sink in our sweet tooth in those freshly baked breads/pastries that is equally mouthwatering. This is the first episode for pastry run and the first of the many entries, so stay tune;)

For today’s mouthwatering treat, I will talk about a simple and classic pastry called the ensaymada. An ensaymada is your typical round bread or brioche but topped with butter cream, grated cheese and sugar :-P.

While there are numerous bakeries that sell this classic pastry treat, I decided to commend this café called Mary Grace for leveling up the playing field in terms of taste and quality of the ensaymada.

Visual: Ensaymadas technically do not differ in terms of appearance unlike your cakes and cupcakes but usually it can be differentiated through the design of the grated cheese on top. Some design their cheese in stripes just like the ones used in pasta and some less prominently as shown in the picture above, which makes use yellow roundish bits.

Taste: Heaven of all ensaymadas I have tried so far. The bread texture is soft, fluffy and not dry. The cheese, oh my, is salted and blended well with the bread as it slides down your tongue. I still can’t forget my first bite;-P

It is also the perfect example wherein taste meets quality. By quality, I mean, the maker does not only focus on the taste but also on the impact it has. After eating one, I did not even feel stuffed as the usual case whenever I eat this pastry. It is grilled and light which means that it does not have detrimental effects to your health. What’s more, due to it being surprisingly light, it does not ruin your appetite for dinner, making it a perfect afternoon treat.

Paired with the Classic Hot Chocolate is like an unexpected bonus to your taste buds. Just when you thought that you are already pampered by the yumminess of the ensaymada, you would be surprised for being blessed with the creaminess of the hot chocolate. I just can’t figure out how they do it. An ensaymada and a hot chocolate that is not sweet but tasted exactly as what its name implies, meaning the maker did not skimp on the main ingredients and used less additives such as sugar, cream etc.

Since Mary Grace’s ensaymada does not make you feel full, you can still opt to try their other specialty pastry called the cheese roll.

Visual: Just like their ensaymada, it does not really differ much from any cheese roll that we see. Although, I love the packaging; makes it look classy as you unravel the golden bread from its white skin with Mary Grace embossed on top. Even if you are not in the mood for pastries, the wrapper provides enough excitement to whet your appetite.

Taste: Light, airy with feathery texture similar to the ensaymada. I guess the bread base is similar for both but it’s not so far the best I have tried mainly because I was expecting the taste of the bread to be different from the ensaymada. However, it definitely is also A Grade quality as it does not make use of additives but rather concentrates on main ingredients which are the bread texture and the strip of cheese at the base. I really enjoyed that cheese base.

For more pastries and cakes from Mary Grace, see links below:p
Cake Run 5: Mary Grace Café “Unboxing Black Velvet”, the White Twin
Cake Run 6: Mary Grace Café “Unboxing Chocolate Truffle”, the Black Twin
The Experience (Cake Run 25): Mary Grace Dining Experience

Have a Mary Day! Feel free to comment and share your thoughts on the comment box below.