A cake for a photo

PalmBonfires were lit here and there. Some huddled around the fire, others moved away from the smoke. Spirals of embers flew, and a damp branch flickered. Blood sausages and salamis were taken from the pantries and thrown into the coals. Conversations, shouts, and laughter swirled around the fire. Then there was always someone who felt moved to sing to the rumble of the tambourine. The singers kept an ancient song, learned long ago. The sound awoke from deep within, animated by the spirit and the warmth of the burning vines, and then it shone brightly, soaring upwards like the spirals that ignited the dark fire.

The feast of Sant Antoni Abat is the first great celebration of the year, halfway between Christmas and Carnival. The food eaten reflects the time of year; we are in the heart of winter, with the pantry freshly stocked with the products of the slaughter. It's also the peak season for leafy greens like spinach and chard. The local cuisine of Santa Antoni features a variety of dishes, including savory and sweet cakes with slices of meat. One of the most common sweet cakes during this time is the potato cake with slices of sobrasada (a type of cured sausage) and morcilla (blood sausage), a traditional treat in towns like Artà. The potato is used to add moisture and a light, airy texture to a dough made with simple ingredients: flour, eggs, sugar, yeast, lard, and boiled and mashed potatoes. This combination results in a soft, almost airy texture that contrasts with the rusticity of other sweets. The first two potato cake recipes are mentioned in Manuscript G, a recipe book from Son Fiol de Consell, dating from the first half of the 19th century, which contains a significant number of recipes from Friar Martín and many others. The first recipe, quite simple, is made with one kilo of potatoes, another of flour, one pound of sugar, three raw ensaimadas (a type of pastry), five eggs, and a third pound of lard. The ingredients are kneaded as if for bread dough. The quantities and the use of different measuring systems are noteworthy. The second recipe is more detailed, and the dough begins with the raw ensaimada (which acts as a leavening agent) to which the rest of the ingredients are added. Another formula from the same century is found in the Llabrés cookbook. The ingredients are always the same, but the measuring system is inexpensive: ounces for the solid ingredients (sugar, lard, potatoes) and chicras for the liquids (oil, water). Once kneaded, it is topped with pieces of candied pumpkin, cherries, or apricots. However, the ingredients themselves will not change over time, only the proportions and the way the dough is worked. Possibly one of the best-explained recipes is the one written by Pedro Ballester in... De re Cibaria (Maó, 1923) where he explains in detail how to properly knead the dough, lifting it into the air and then folding it again with fists greased with butter to prevent the dough from sticking. He also writes another recipe that doesn't need to ferment despite being made with ensaimada dough.

In Valldemossa, the potato cake has acquired almost an iconic status, so much so that it's nearly impossible not to stop and try one. In the context of Sant Antoni, the potato cake can appear as a sweet counterpoint to the toasted bread or other typical delicacies of the festival. In Artà and Colonia de Sant Pere, the cakes are round, tall, and spongy. They are usually prepared in the days leading up to the festival, often with the help of family members, who make them in large quantities to have at home and give to friends and relatives—a sweet way to share the celebration.

Today's recipe is potato cake in mold published by Tomeu Arbona in Traditional Mallorcan pastries, a recipe with which you can make two cakes or one if you have a thick mold.