St. Teresa’s Yemas de Santa Teresa

History

St. Teresa’s Day on October 15th has historically been celebrated throughout the centuries with an egg yolk sweet—yemas! This candied egg treat is said to have been a result of the Spanish cultural tradition of making sherry and wine, a popular culinary delight in Avila, where St. Teresa was from. The production of this sherry and wine often called for egg whites to be used during the refining and clarifying process. The remaining egg yolks were then given to local convents or monasteries to use in their baked goods and sweets.

You might think that with her aristocratic background and eventual lauded position within the Church, Teresa wouldn’t have spent much time in the kitchen making treats like this. But you’d be wrong! Even when she was the head of her order, it was said that she made sure to take her turn cooking and baking and encouraged her other sisters to do so as well. This could have partially been the result of her emphasis on nuns living down-to-earth lives, not separate from the woes and perils of this world. It could also have been related to her advocacy for perpetual abstinence from meat. After all, it must have taken some work to continue to derive tasty recipes mainly based on the foundations of bread and eggs. Whatever the reason, Teresa’s dedication to the kitchen is clear, with tradition even remembering her saying the phrase, “The Lord walks among the pots and the pans!”

Yemas de Santa Teresa

Rich and creamy, yemas consist of a simple recipe of egg yolks, sugar, water, and more sugar. While they might seem like an unusual candied treat, they make a wonderful snack or addition to a larger cookie platter. Variations of the below recipe include adding a dash of cinnamon or chopped nuts. The delicacy continues to be a speciality within the pastry shops of Spain, and the treat can certainly attribute its rich history to the popularity of this sixteenth century saint!

Ingredients

3 oz water

1/2 cup sugar

peel from 1/2 lemon

6 egg yolks

powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Put water, sugar, and lemon peel into a small saucepan. Bring the water to a boil while dissolving the sugar and let the mixture cook until it starts to ball up, around 238 degrees. Remove the lemon peel from the sugar concoction and pour into a bowl, covering it to keep it hot.
2. In a small bowl, separate the yolks from the whites and beat the egg yolks until they are a consistent liquid. Pour the beaten yolks into the empty saucepan and then re-add the sugar mixture back in, stirring constantly. Put the saucepan on low heat and stir the mixture continuously with a whisk until the yolks begin to solidify—up to 10 minutes. You’ll know when you can remove it from the heat as soon as you see the mixture pull away from the sides and bottom of the pan.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and spoon the mixture onto a plate in one lump. Allow it to cool.
4. After it has cooled, sprinkle powdered sugar through a sieve onto your countertop. Place the yolk mixture on top and roll it around in the sugar. Pinch off a small pit of the yolks, about the size of a ping pong ball, and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball in more powdered sugar to cover it.
5. Chill the yemas in a fridge until you’re ready to serve them. The powdered sugar should form a thin crust on the outside of the ball as it cools.