What greixonera is
Greixonera (fully “greixonera dolça” — sweet greixonera) is the Mallorcan bread pudding — a dense baked dessert made from stale sweet bread (classically leftover ensaïmadas), milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest. Baked in a clay dish (“greixonera”), hence the name.
It’s literally a leftover dessert — born from the need to use up old ensaïmadas or bread. But it isn’t second-rate: it’s one of the most honest sweets of the island.
What makes it distinctive
- The bread: has to be stale. Fresh bread soaks up too much milk and goes mushy. Classically you use 2-3 day old ensaïmadas, which gives the pudding its slightly yeasty, buttery character.
- The seasoning: cinnamon and lemon zest dominate. Sometimes a hint of anise. This is the old Mallorcan dessert spice signature.
- The clay dish: traditionally greixonera is baked in a large, shallow Mallorcan clay dish — the same shape used for stews. The clay distributes heat evenly.
History
Greixonera is a farmhouse dessert — born in Mallorcan families who wanted a dense, filling Sunday dessert and had old baked goods in the larder. The tradition is at least 200 years old.
There’s also a savoury version called “greixonera de brossat” — a kind of fresh-cheese bake made from Mallorcan brossat — closer to a quiche or cheesecake. This page is about the sweet version.
When you eat it
Greixonera is an all-weather dessert, but particularly winter and autumn. Served warm or cold. The classic Mallorcan Sunday closes with a greixonera — family pudding after the meal, sometimes from the day before, with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Greixonera at Es Muntant
We serve greixonera year-round as one of our regular desserts alongside gató d’ametla. We bake it in a Mallorcan clay dish — the same way it’s done at home, only at larger scale. Our ensaïmadas for the greixonera come from Forn de Esporles.