Sweet buds of Santa Teresa

How to make sweet yolks from Santa Teresa or Ávila . Something for which many convents are known and worthy of pilgrimage are their varied recipes for sweets .

Handmade desserts made in the old way, with love, time, care and good raw materials, are difficult to beat. Mantecados , marzipans , fritters ,  cocadas , the famous tocinillo de cielo and many more. Each convent has its specialties, but the one that seems to repeat itself in most of them is the sweet convent buds.

The best known are the Yemas de Santa Teresa , the most identifying pastry item in the province of Ávila that receives its name in honor of Santa Teresa de Jesús. Years ago, its fame crossed borders and today they can be found in patisseries throughout Spain.

The Yemas de San Leandro, made by the Augustinian hermitage cloistered nuns from the Convent of San Leandro in Seville, have also become very popular. Or the yolks of Almazán, from the town that gives them the name in the province of Soria, and the yolks of the Tagus, typical of the Malaga municipality of Ronda.

As we have been able to verify, all the sweet yolks of the convent are made with egg yolk and syrup, so just as we have done them too although we really wanted to flavor the syrup with a lemon peel (something completely dispensable). The result is these little orange balls that you see in the photo and that are an exquisite, soft and very elegant snack.

If you have never considered making sweet convent yolks, you are in luck because with this recipe they will be delicious. They are easy and do not require foreign utensils, you just have to have a little patience to stir the dough for the time it needs to thicken and ready. It is a piece of cake.

Preparation of sweet buds base

1. Peel the lemon with a sharp knife. We make sure not to drag the white part of the skin because it is bitter and can spoil the result.
2. Pour the water into a saucepan and add the sugar and the lemon peel. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat until you get a syrup on the point of fine strand, that is, until it reaches 105ºC.
3. We can use a thermometer to check the point, but if we do not have one at home we remove the saucepan from the heat before the syrup takes color.
4. While we make the syrup we place the yolks in a deep container and beat them. We pass them through a strainer to remove possible lumps.
5. We pour the syrup over the yolks. We do it slowly and little by little (it falls into a fine thread). At the same time that we beat to bind the mixture and homogenize. We can do it with metal rods for a better result.

Cooking and presentation of sweet convent yolks

1. We pass the mixture to a clean saucepan and place it on the fire. Cook over very low heat until it thickens and the mixture detaches from the walls of the container.
2. We remove the mixture for as long as necessary. This can take about 30-40 minutes. So you have to be patient and serve yourself a good wine while we give the mixture. the wait will be more enjoyable.
3. When the mixture has reached the desired texture. We put it in a clean container and let it cool completely. They have to be cold before storing in the fridge for a few hours for it to take shape. It is a recommendation although this is not strictly necessary.
4. We finish the sweet convent yolks by taking small portions of the dough, boleando and passing through icing sugar.
5. We put the yolks in small paper capsules (like those of truffles and chocolates) . We keep them in the fridge until serving time.

Follow the step by step that you will find in the album of this recipe for sweet Convento buds , they will come out the first time.

Tips for some sweet yolk yolks

• This is an easy recipe, but you need to be patient. If we do not give the necessary thickness point to the dough, we will not obtain the adequate result. They will be rich, yes, but the consistency will not be that of the sweet yolks of the convent that we all know.
• It is important that the dough does not cook or, otherwise, the egg yolk will curdle and we will not be able to save the mixture in any way. Therefore, the fire must be very low and we must not stop stirring.
• The dough is a little sticky and forming the yolks has its own. To avoid sticking to our hands, it is best to grease them lightly with vegetable oil and repeat the operation as many times as necessary.
• We can do without the lemon if we don’t have it on hand and make a basic syrup. On the contrary, we can flavor the syrup even more with a cinnamon stick.
• With these amounts of ingredients we have 26 yolks. We have made them small, which is how we like them the most. If you want them bigger, they will come out less. Logically.
• The best way to enjoy sweet convent yolks is at room temperature. If we make sure to take them out of the fridge an hour before serving they will be yummy. And if we accompany them with a liqueur or desktop coffee, better than better.