Yemas (Egg Yolk Pastries), Corazones de San Antonio (“St. Anthony’s Herat”), Suspiros de Almendra (Almond Bites), Mazapán Relleno (Filled Marzipan), Rosquillas de Anis (Anise-Flavoured Rings), Rosquillas de Zumo de Naranja (Orange-Flavoured Rings), Toledanas (Puff Pastry Bites), Bolluelos (Almond Puff Pastry), Manchegos (A Typical Sweet from La Mancha)… It would be impossible to list them all here, but all of these traditional sweets and cakes share a number of common characteristics: top-quality natural ingredients, traditional hand-crafted production methods, and a pinch of something almost divine.

THROUGH THE TORNO

The cakes made in convents are also laced with tradition and linked to rituals. There is something quite unique about going to a convent and buying cakes and biscuits through the Lazy Susan-style revolving tray, known in Spanish as a torno. This is a magical place where two worlds collide yet do not intermix.

In many cases, it is only possible to buy these products via this revolving tray, especially if the convent is home to nuns of a closed order. These are usually small institutions which date back many centuries, attended by fervent congregations, but ones with dwindling numbers and energy.

Despite their difficulties, the nuns manage to keep alive recipes which, in some cases, are hundreds of years old.

Toledo also offers us the chance to gain an insight into life in a closed convent, as some of the city's convents are home to a number of special paintings, sculptures and pieces of jewellery, not to mention the architecture of the buildings themselves.