Is the palmera de chocolate a typical bun of Madrid? It is not clear, but there are three reasons to associate it with the region: The Association of Confectioners of Madrid (ASEMPAS) includes it as a typical pastry from here; Morata de Tajuña celebrates the Chocolate Palmera Fair; and it is rare not to find one in any bakery, whether industrial or artisanal.
1. La Duquesita
La Duquesita is one of the oldest (it opened in 1914) and mythical pastry shops in Madrid, and its palmeritas, along with its boxes of chocolates, are the star of the house. Here the palmeritas have a very light puff pastry made with butter. To get the crunchy touch before going into the oven, they are finished with sugar. Once cold, they are covered with chocolate, the same chocolate used for the bonbons. A 70% bitter chocolate that combines perfectly with their puff pastry.
Calle Fernando VI, 2 (Chueca)
2. Moulin Chocolat
To get a Moulin Chocolat palm tree and make sure there are some, it is advisable to call ahead: they are in such high demand. Chef Ricardo Vélez is in charge of the recipes of this pastry shop, (also of other sweet institutions such as Chocolatería San Ginés or the pastry shop of the famous restaurant Lhardy). Here the palmera is made with a 70% chocolate glaze, especially creamy with a crunchy base. Everything you would expect from this sweet.
Calle de Alcalá, 77 (Salamanca district)
3. Pastelería Nunos
All the pastries at Pastelería Nunos are handmade, so their chocolate palm had to be among the best in Madrid. Although it is a bakery known for having roscón de Reyes all year round, its palmera has just the right thickness, is crunchy and its dark chocolate coating is convincing.
Calle de Narváez, 63 (Retiro)
4. Panod
In Panod, one of those artisan bakeries that you have to visit from time to time, they love the classics of pastries and the butter palm is one of their hallmarks. They make them only with flour, Belgian butter, salt, water and sugar. They make the puff pastry from scratch and cut each palm with a knife. This way they get the right thickness, neither too thick nor too thin.
Calle de Prim, 1 (Chueca); Avenida de Europa, 23 (Pozuelo); Plaza de la Moraleja, s/n (Alcobendas) and Calle Manuel de Falla, 3 (Majadahonda).
5. Cientotreinta Grados
Cientotreinta Grados has an award for the best bread in Madrid in 2020, and is also a place known for roasting its own coffee, but its chocolate palmeras also deserve mention. The puff pastry is the key to this palmera, and it is enough to split them to see the finesse of its elaboration, although the Valhrona grand cru chocolate only adds to it.
Calle de Ayala, 28 (La Paz market) and Calle de Fernando el Católico, 17 (Chamberí)
6. Estela Hojaldre
Estela Hojaldre is a bakery specializing in puff pastry from Cantabria – the key to this is in the butter of the area – and that pastry richness can be tasted in the neighborhood of Las Letras in Madrid. Although the most sought after pastries at this bakery are the meringue mille-feuille (a classic that also deserves its prominence), the palmeras had to be good. And indeed they are: the base of this pastry, the puff pastry, is the specialty of the place.
Plaza de Jesús, 5 (Las Letras)