"What? You've never eaten one of these cakes?", one of the regular customers of Mazapanes Toledo replied incredulously , knowing that I have never tasted their products. This is one of the almost centenary businesses of the Historic Center; one of those of Spanish heritage, which has been in charge of protecting one of the best kept secrets of the old continent: marzipan. Because yes, the original marzipan is not Mexican, but European. It is such an ancient snack that it is even believed that its origin dates back to the Persian Empire, although its first written reference dates back to 1512 in Toledo, Spain. So, if you want to taste this authentic Spanish delicatessen without leaving the city, your best option is Mazapanes Toledo.
It was the 1930s, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War conflict, when the Toledo-born Luis García Galeano had to leave his homeland and settle permanently in Mexico. There, on the other side of the Atlantic, García Galeano was an important businessman in the automotive industry, local representative of Ford. Here, his leftist political principles earned him the rejection of his colleagues, so he had to pursue other interests. During his childhood in Sonseca, Spain, he learned the traditional recipe for marzipan, so in that moment of need he did not hesitate to invest the little money he had to get the ingredients and a mill.
"I bought some almonds and a new coffee grinder and mixed them with sugar, as I had learned. I made a few little figures, glazed them with egg white and baked them in the oven in the kitchen of the house where I lived. It was about a kilo of marzipan, my first Mexican production. I went out to the street to offer them to the main grocery stores, whose owners were Spanish," recalls Luis García Galeano himself in his memoirs.
After gaining the favor of the owner of La Sevillana, an important grocery store of the time, García Galeano partnered with other Spanish refugees and in December 1939 founded the first Mazapanes Toledo store, located on República de Uruguay Street in the Historic Center. Today, the business is run by the third generation of the García Galeano family, which has jealously guarded both its recipes and its production and supply chain. So says Mirna García, who has been working for the company for 20 years.
Marzipan is the product obtained by kneading, with or without cooking, the mixture of raw, peeled and ground almonds with sugar. Nougat, on the other hand, also has almond paste as a base, although it is mixed with honey; while polvorón incorporates powdered sugar. The consistency of all these products will depend, then, on the thickness of the ground almonds, which is the star ingredient. According to Mirna, Turrón de Jijona, marzipan figures and Torta Santiago are the best-selling products, the latter being a hidden gem on the menu.
Torta Santiago is a round sponge cake made with almonds, butter and sugar, which is decorated with the unique silhouette of a sword made with sprinkled powdered sugar. " It is a cake that is requested a lot for special occasions," says Mirna, although I have tried it on any given Tuesday. The bread is so soft that it crumbles in the mouth, and the level of sweetness is much lower than in commercial cakes, ideal for demanding palates. Inside the classic grocery display case there are also cookies, chocolates, peladillas and sweet and savory breads, which are packaged in a delicate cardboard box with the traditional Mazapanes Toledo shield.
In 1990, Mazapanes Toledo published 'Historia y Leyenda del Mazapán', the definitive guide to this centuries-old dessert. In the branch on 16 de Septiembre Street, a copy is exhibited along with other relics of the house that have fallen into disuse, including ladles, mills, weighing machines, cutters and even analogous adding machines. Before leaving the place, Mirna reveals to me one last secret: that the stone they place under the oven is responsible for keeping their marzipan and nougat from burning. " Not everyone knows how to bake them evenly," she tells me proudly.
Mazapanes Toledo has four branches, two in Centro, one in Polanco and one in Colonia Noche Buena. They are open every day from 10 am, except on Sunday, when they open at 11 am. For more information on products, locations and prices, you can visit their official website.
