Brazo de Gitano
Swiss roll
One legend has it that a globe-trotting monk from the El Bierzo region brought this recipe back from Egypt while the more accepted origin is that this dessert’s name comes from the 19th century when the Roma people (gitanos) who sold pots and pans to the pastry shops in Barcelona were rewarded with offcuts of cake that they rolled up in sponge and carried on their arms (brazos).
Covered in icing sugar and filled with vanilla-flavoured pastry cream it makes a great accompaniment to an afternoon coffee.