JOAN SERRA MINGOT

 

Fluffy, sweet... And with an egg in the middle. We are talking about the mona or Easter cake, one of those pastries that, apart from being yummy, let you 'play' with them. And yes, it is not good to play with food, but the tradition of the Easter cake says that you have to crack the boiled egg, that is placed in the center of the cake, in the forehead of another person.

 

The mona is the typical pastry consumed on Easter Monday in Aragon, Castilla La- Mancha, Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia. It is customary to go to the countryside with family and enjoy it with good cup of hot chocolate. Traditionally the godfather gives the mona to his godson on Easter Sunday after mass. The next day, one or several families or friends meet to enjoy the mona in good company to celebrate the last day of Holy Week.

 

The mona is a kind of cake made of panquemado (a brioche cooked with flour, milk, powder, sugar, eggs, oil, salt, water and lemon rind) and one or more eggs with painted shell (the famous Easter eggs). They can have many shapes, but are usually of animals, such as snakes or monkeys. Moreover, in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands monas are decorated with colorful feathers, chocolate dragees, boiled candies, etc. In recent years chocolate has gained great importance in the design of Easter cakes. In various regions, chicken eggs have been replaced by chocolate eggs and many Catalan master bakers just prepare Easter chocolate cakes, edible sculptures that can reach large dimensions. In fact, many bakeries compete to showcase the best and most spectacular mona of the year, which may have the shape of a known character or a renowned building.

 

The texture of the mona is similar to the cake, but the recipe is extremely complex. It can takes you up to 6 hours preparing this pastry and nothing assures you that, after fermentation, baking and other steps, it does not 'deflate' when you remove it from oven. So our advice is, since it is eaten only once a year, you should go to a good pastry and order your Easter cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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