{"id":8449,"date":"2026-10-19T23:32:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8449"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:50:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:50:36","slug":"xuixo","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/xuixo\/","title":{"rendered":"Xuixo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Break open the sugar-coated yeast dough, and pale yellow custard appears like a thick core. This Girona sweet, whose name is rendered in Japanese as both shushu and shuisho, is made by rolling dough around cream, closing both ends, and then frying it in oil. The yeast dough and the custard are prepared separately and made into an elongated single-serving sweet. Two accounts have taken root in the city: an origin story that the city celebrates as beginning in 1918, and a jester legend that traces the name to the sound of a sneeze.<\/p>\n

\n\"Fried\n
A xuixo before being cut open (March 2, 2008; location unknown). Comparing it with a cross-section photo by the same photographer reveals the rolled layers of dough remaining on the outside. Photo: Cangur \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ Public domain<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No content alterations or cropping made on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Rolling Cooled Cream in Chilled Dough and Closing the Ends<\/h2>\n

The base is a yeast dough that combines wheat flour, yeast, sugars and other ingredients. The use of eggs and fat varies by formulation. Cream is placed on the rolled-out dough, which is then rolled up to enclose it. Because flat dough is formed into a tube, the cut surface reveals overlapping layers of dough surrounding the filling. When dough holding yeast bubbles is heated in oil, the outside browns and the inside puffs up softly.<\/p>\n

The seams of the dough are closed, shaping it so that the cream does not leak out during frying. When the outside turns golden, it is drained of oil and rolled in sugar. A thin layer of white sugar grains clings to the fried surface; the first bite brings the sugar and the fried crust, followed by the flavor and texture of the cream.<\/p>\n

Catalonia\u2019s regional food inventory describes a method in which a thin dough, which also contains powdered milk and eggs, is rolled out, filled with cream, rolled up, and has both ends folded inward. The shape is thick in the center and somewhat tapered at the ends, and the surface retains folds from rolling the dough.<\/p>\n

In the published recipe (the ingredient proportions and method) of the cook Roc\u00edo Arroyo, wheat flour, water, butter, sugar, fresh yeast, salt and lemon zest are kneaded together. The dough is rested, shaped into individual balls and refrigerated, and the cream is wrapped only after it too has cooled. Egg yolks are used in the cream filling, and the dough is made without eggs.<\/p>\n

\n\"Cross-section\n
Cross-section of an opened xuixo (March 2, 2008; location unknown). Yellow cream fills the inside of the sugar-coated crust. Photo: Cangur \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ Public domain<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No content alterations or cropping made on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Custard That Is Easy to Wrap, and a Variety of Fillings<\/h2>\n

The typical filling is a custard made by heating milk, egg yolks, sugar, and starch or flour, among other ingredients. It is flavored with vanilla or similar, thickened, and then cooled. When it is made firm enough not to run as the dough is rolled, the cream can be enclosed like a thick core.<\/p>\n

Today, some are also filled with chocolate, apple, a fibrous sweet fruit preserve called cabell d\u2019\u00e0ngel, or other fillings. Recuits Nuri, a family business in Ullastret, also presents a xuixo filled with recuit de drap made from local goat\u2019s milk. Even when wrapped in dough and fried the same way, the use of local ingredients makes the filling different. The crunch of the sugar on the outside stays the same, while the richness and aroma of the filling can be varied with the ingredients used.<\/p>\n

The Puig Pastry Shop, Credited with Its Birth in 1918, and the City\u2019s Centennial Celebration<\/h2>\n

The city of Girona celebrated 2018 as the xuixo\u2019s centennial and presented an account of its origin holding that it is thought to have been born in 1918 at the Puig pastry shop in the city. A commemorative plaque was placed at the shop\u2019s former location, and a pastry makers\u2019 competition and demonstrations were also held. It is an effort by the city to commemorate and pass on the history of a local sweet.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s tourist guide for children also introduces the possibility that a French cream pastry called chou \u00e0 la cr\u00e8me<\/em> provided a clue to its creation. This explanation suggests the possibility that, taking inspiration from cream-filled choux, local makers changed the method to rolling and frying yeast dough.<\/p>\n

\n\"Sugar-coated\n
A xuixo from Pastisseria Costa, a pastry shop in Ripoll (August 5, 2026; location unknown). The outside is generously coated with sugar. Photo: Kippelboy \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. Released under CC0 by the photographer. No content alterations or cropping made on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

A Method Inherited from Puig\u2019s Pastry Makers, and Refinements to the Formula<\/h2>\n

What connects the Puig shop with today\u2019s pastry makers is not only a commemorative year. Josep Maria Torn\u00e9s, winner of the 2026 competition as reported by the city of Girona, says that after Puig closed, its pastry makers moved to his shop, and that the shop inherited the method from them and refined it. He himself took part in drawing up the \u201cTen Commandments of the Girona Xuixo\u201d in the 1990s. In the city\u2019s interview, he explained that he seeks a balance between the weight of the dough and the weight of the cream, and the judges also praised that balance and the lightness of the dough.<\/p>\n

Even after the original shop closed, the technique of balancing the thickness of the dough with the amount of cream was passed on to the next shop along with the pastry makers who moved there.<\/p>\n

A Naming Legend Tied to Tarl\u00e0\u2019s Sneeze, and the Festival Figure<\/h2>\n

Girona also has a story linking a figure named Tarl\u00e0 with the sweet. According to the city\u2019s explanation of its spring festival, tradition holds that he performed acrobatics to entertain the residents of Carrer de l\u2019Argenteria, which had been quarantined because of the plague, and today a figure of him is still hung from a pole stretched across the street and spun to recreate the scene. In the city\u2019s educational materials, Tarl\u00e0 came to see a pastry maker\u2019s daughter, hid in a sack of flour and was discovered when he sneezed. To win her father\u2019s forgiveness, he promised to teach him how to make a sweet that no one yet knew, and that sweet was named xuixo after the sound of the sneeze.<\/p>\n

Xuixos Served to Charity Walk Participants<\/h2>\n

The xuixo also lends its name to a charity walk held by the Oncolliga Girona Foundation, which supports cancer patients and their families. At the 2025 \u201cMarxa del Xuixo,\u201d participants who walked in the Girona area were served xuixos provided by a regional pastry makers\u2019 association and bakeries. Besides being eaten at breakfast or as an afternoon snack, the xuixo also has a place at local events that support patients and their families.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Girona<\/strong>: A city in the Catalonia region of Spain.<\/p>

Custard<\/strong>: A cream made by heating milk, eggs, sugar and other ingredients.<\/p>

Cabell d\u2019\u00e0ngel<\/strong>: A sweet preserve of squash cooked so that its fibers remain.<\/p>

Roc\u00edo Arroyo<\/strong>: A Spanish cook. She has published a recipe for yeast dough and cream on Canal Cocina.<\/p>

Recuit de drap<\/strong>: A soft, fresh dairy product made by wrapping it in cloth.<\/p>

Recuits Nuri<\/strong>: A dairy producer in Ullastret that uses local goat\u2019s milk.<\/p>

Puig pastry shop<\/strong>: The shop honored by the city of Girona as the birthplace of the xuixo in 1918. After it closed, its pastry makers moved to other shops and passed on the method.<\/p>

Josep Maria Torn\u00e9s<\/strong>: A Girona pastry maker. He won the 2026 competition and spoke of inheriting the method from Puig and refining it.<\/p>

Tarl\u00e0<\/strong>: A figure who appears in Girona legend and is also tied to the story of the xuixo\u2019s name.<\/p>

Oncolliga Girona Foundation<\/strong>: An organization that supports local cancer patients and their families and also organizes a charity walk.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n

  1. \u2022 Ajuntament de Girona, \u201c2018, l\u2019Any del Xuixo\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The city\u2019s 1918 account and the 2018 centennial; the commemorative plaque, the pastry makers\u2019 competition and demonstrations.\n\u2022 Roc\u00edo Arroyo \/ Canal Cocina, \u201cXuxos\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Egg-free yeast dough, individual shaping and refrigeration; heating and cooling the egg-yolk custard; wrapping, frying, draining and coating with granulated sugar.\n\u2022 Generalitat de Catalunya, \u201cProductes de la terra,\u201d p91, Xuixo de Girona<\/a> \u2014 The early 20th century and its spread to various areas; the thin dough, ends folded inward, powdered milk and eggs; custard with lemon and cinnamon, and daily production.\n\u2022 Costa Brava Girona, \u201c8 plats que has de tastar,\u201d Xuixo section<\/a> \u2014 Variations with chocolate, apple and sweet fruit-fiber preserve; breakfast and snacks.\n\u2022 VisitEmpordanet, \u201cProducers,\u201d Recuits Nuri entry<\/a> \u2014 The producer\u2019s own description of its goat\u2019s-milk products and xuixo filled with recuit.\n\u2022 Ajuntament de Girona, \u201cEl Tarl\u00e0\u201d educational material<\/a> \u2014 The legend of hiding in a sack, the sneeze and the name of the sweet; the legend used as teaching material.\n\u2022 Fundaci\u00f3 Oncolliga Girona, \u201c23a Marxa del Xuixo,\u201d 2025-11-23<\/a> \u2014 A charity walk supporting patients; a pastry makers\u2019 association and bakeries providing the sweets.<\/p><\/li>

  2. \u2022 Ajuntament de Girona: El Millor Xuixo del M\u00f3n el fa la pastisseria Torn\u00e9s de Girona<\/a> \u2014 Puig\u2019s pastry makers moving to another shop; Torn\u00e9s\u2019s inheritance and refinement of the method; the Ten Commandments of the 1990s; the balance between dough and cream.<\/p><\/li>

  3. Ajuntament de Girona: Guia tur\u00edstica per a infants, \u201cGastronomia\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Introduces the possibility that chou \u00e0 la cr\u00e8me was a source of inspiration. Confirmed in the page text as captured by the relevant search.<\/li>
  4. Ajuntament de Girona, \u201cEl Tarl\u00e0\u201d spring festival explanation<\/a> \u2014 The legend of the acrobat on the street quarantined during the epidemic, and the present-day spinning figure.<\/li>

  5. \u2022 Historical note: The Tarl\u00e0 story is presented as a city legend and is distinguished from records proving the shop\u2019s establishment in 1918. The relationship with chou \u00e0 la cr\u00e8me is likewise a possible inspiration introduced by the city and does not imply the same dough or method.<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Xuixo is a custard-filled fried pastry representative of Girona, Spain. Also known in Japanese by spellings such as shuisho, it is an elongated dough coated with white sugar. Break it open and pale yellow cream appears in the center, so you can enjoy the toasty, puffed crust together with the soft, milky filling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7480,"menu_order":220,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Xuixo","subtitle":"Cream wrapped in a roll of yeast dough and coated in sugar","topics":"Finishing rolled dough in oil\uff0fMaking a core of cream\uff0fFrom a Girona shop to a sweet commemorating a hundred years","country":"Girona, Spain","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["cream","egg"],"texture":[],"occasion":[],"method":["fried","fermented"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[169],"class_list":["post-8449","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t