Yemas de Santa Teresa is the most representative confectionery element of Ávila. Its popularity has gone beyond Castilla y León and they can be purchased in other Spanish bakeries. The reputation of this candy have turned it into a kind of souvenir associated to Ávila. Its appearance is characteristic for being a small rounded and orangey yellow sphere, resembling the egg yolk itself. They are slightly covered with icing sugar, which causes a great contrast between the crunchy texture of the outside and the smooth and delicate texture of the inside that melts instantly in your mouth. They are usually plated in a white tartlet. They were given this name in honor of Santa Teresa de Jesús.
This dainty candy is solely elaborated with sugar and egg yolks. They are given this rounded shape by hand creating small spheres of two centimeters thick, making each unique from the rest. They are placed in boxes separately, ready to be sold. Furthermore, thanks to thorough investigations, it is known that the authentic Yemas de Santa Teresa can be packed for 60 days without colorings or preservatives. This dessert is elaborated all throughout the year.
They were created in 1860, in the bakery that Isabel Sánchez owned, named La Flor de Castilla, initiating a tradition in which the original recipe has been passed down from generation to generation. Even though that same bakery still exists, the company changed in 1980, but the familiar structure always remained the same. The reason why they were named “Yemas de Santa Teresa” is because Ávila is a city full of convents, where the influence of Santa Teresa still remains.
Formerly, 100 boxes of Yemas de Santa Teresa were elaborated and sold daily. Currently, they are elaborated in three different bakeries in Ávila, and the production has remained constant, producing approximately 250,000 boxes per year. But its selling is not only located in Ávila, outside it they are sold in specialized stores and supermarkets. Santa Teresa, company in charge of commercializing them, has achieve that their Yemas as well as other products are exported to more than 20 countries, including the United States, Australia and Japan.
What also makes Yemas de Santa Teresa unique is the client’s entertainment. Since its origin, the boxes contain a message, similar to a riddle. It was the founder’s idea as a way of connecting with the client. Once solved, they could send the answer of the riddle back to the company. Currently, the company keeps the original design, which has been trademark for a century and a half. And despite the passing years since then, they still receive the client’s answer of the riddle nowadays.
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