Artagan Pasteleria
Crackling Sugar Palmier
Crackling Sugar Persian
Cream Bun
Bilbainitio
Baba Au Citrus
Pastel Crema
Located at Avenida Zumalacarregui 105, a small side street just a couple hundred meters from The Basilica of Begona, Artagan was the second Pasteleria visited on my final day in Bilbao, and part of a small chain much like Arrese before it the small store opened in 1966 showed off a wide selection of Basque cookies, cakes, and candies plus several pastries given their own unique twist.
Another Spanish-only store, though this time compounded by a lack of both labels and prices, those visiting Artagnan are advised to peruse the wares closely from one end to the other before making a selection, each of six cases offering several items ranging from petit four size to customized cakes made for celebrations.
Perhaps best known for their smiling signature truffle, the €1.50 Bilbainitio found at several stores throughout the region, suffice it to say that aside from the design there is little worth getting excited over in the milk chocolate filled orb, but moving onward to bigger and better the results no doubt improve substantially, the cream-filled donut again proving an exception to the rule and barely much better than a breadstick with a thin layer of lightly sweet fluff.
Acknowledging that this may be the last time in awhile that I’d have to enjoy a Pastel Crema it was with good fortune that the version at Artagan was so fresh that warmth coursed through the still-jiggling custard core and moving onward to the small cake vaguely resembling a Rhum Baba spirits were further raised by a moist sponge soaked in sweet liquor not dissimilar from Limoncello.
Figuring it only fair to compare Arrese and Artagnan item-for-item to round out the morning it was with a Palmier and Persian that the tasting would end and presenting the very best outcome with a true split-decision the only real question being “how good are your teeth” as these versions were topped with a shattering layer of sugar, each bite sending shards drifting skyward and definitely not something to be eaten in the car.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastelerias-Artagan/