Buying Pasteles from Cloistered Nuns

Enter through this door

Years ago I had been to one of the convents in Madrid hoping to buy their pastries but alas, they were closed. It wasn't until recently that I finally had the chance to try one of their delectable cookies.

The Monastery of Corpus Christi is on Calle del Codo which is off the popular Plaza del Conde de Miranda. Buzz the nuns at the door to let you in. The second buzzer is for the monks which you can ring if you wish to go to confession. Once you're inside you pass a courtyard to a short corridor before you enter an open door where you can ask the nun in attendance what you'd like from the list posted on the wall. It is possible they may only have one pastry available (as on the day I went). If they have different items available, they will put the boxes of pastries or cookies on the lazy susan and you can put your money on top of the box you wish to purchase. Your change and box of sweets will come around shortly.

Put your money on top of the pastry box you wish to buy

You will not see anyone. You will only hear the voice of the nun in attendance. These cloistered nuns make a living by selling these pasteles. It's nice to help them by buying their cookies and going off the grid to find them. The price of each box of pastry is indicated alongside the items they sell. The box of nevaditos that I bought cost €9.

On the list of items the nuns sell are naranjines (orange flavored cookies) almond cookies, yema (custard candy with egg yolk) nevaditos, galletas (biscuits), pastas de té (cookies). Some of these are available by the kilo as well.

Nevaditos

There were at least 16 pieces of nevaditos (snow capped mountains) in the box. I may have eaten a couple before I started counting. They were so good. It goes well with a cup of tea. The ingredients are: flour, sugar, white wine and lard. The cookies aren't that sweet despite the powdered sugar icing. Here's the recipe for nevaditos:

http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/nevaditos-345.html

When to buy the pastries:

Morning from 9 a.m. To 1 p.m.

Afternoon from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Since the days of the week are not indicated, this might mean they are open daily (though many businesses are closed on Sundays in Madrid).

*****

Images by Charie

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