Carbayones

Carbayones are small pastries emblematic of Oviedo, in Asturias in northern Spain. Boat-shaped puff pastry shells are filled with an almond mixture and baked, then finished with a layer of egg yolk and a thin sugar glaze. Inside the light, flaky layers of puff pastry is the rich flavor of nuts, and the surface is glossy.

Layered flavors in a boat-shaped pastry

At Camilo de Blas, a long-established shop in Oviedo, laminated butter dough is filled with a mixture of sugar, eggs and Marcona almonds and baked. The baked pastries are first coated with a layer of egg yolk, and this is then covered with a thin glaze. The shop’s pastry makers say they apply the glaze quickly, before it cools and crystallizes. The thin coating is finished so that it does not mask the flavors of the egg and almonds.

Methods vary. In one example from a collection of Asturian recipes, thinly rolled puff pastry is pressed into small molds, the bottoms are pricked with a fork, and the shells are filled with ground almonds mixed with egg yolk, lemon zest, and rum or sweet wine. After baking, the pastries are removed from the molds and brushed with an egg cream, then left to dry before being covered with a white glaze made with lemon and powdered sugar. The pastry shell holding the filling, the egg layer and the final glaze are each prepared in separate steps.

A pastry named after a tree

The name carbayón comes from carbayu, the Asturian word for oak. Calle Uría in Oviedo was once home to a large oak tree that people called “El Carbayón.” The name also became a nickname for the people of Oviedo and has been passed on to the pastry. The name the townspeople gave to a tree became the name of a small pastry.

According to an encyclopedia of Oviedo’s local history, José de Blas, who was put in charge of a shop on Calle Jovellanos in 1914, asked the pastry maker José Gutiérrez to create a pastry representing the city for an Asturian trade fair to be held in Gijón in 1924. Another culinary source states that Camilo made it, so accounts of its origin do not agree.

Asturias is also known for casadielles, which enclose walnuts or hazelnuts. In one example, casadielles are made by wrapping a nut filling in dough, frying it and finishing it with a sprinkling of sugar. Carbayones are made by filling puff pastry with an almond mixture, baking it, and layering egg yolk and glaze on top. Even among sweets from the same region that use nuts, the pastry you bite into and the finish differ.

Glossary