Oriol Balaguer receives La Vanguardia in the workshop of his store in Travessera de les Corts on Friday morning, just over a week before the big date, Easter Monday. These days are a non-stop in pastry shops. “It is a time as magical as it is intense for us, because as soon as the Christmas campaign ends we start the Easter campaign,” explains the pastry chef. Both he and the rest of the professionals consulted predict a good year for the sector, similar to the past, and even better according to the forecasts of the Gremi de Pastisseria, which estimates that one hundred thousand more monkeys will be sold than in 2023, around 800,000.
This year especially, authentic nods are made to the traditional mona, to its origin. Balaguer, who has stood out for his geometric and sculptural forms, proposes a classic monkey that has conquered his clientele. “She is a cute Cristina, the same one that my aunt prepared and gave to the neighbors when I was little when I spent Easter in Calafell.” A traditional brioche in the shape of a roscón, with an anise flavor and topped with a large dark chocolate egg. “Since we made it, this year has been the one with the most requests. Now this is what we are looking for: tradition, essence, simplicity and the memory of childhood.”
There is an intense smell of chocolate and monkeys everywhere. “Those need to have their beaks added,” says the pastry chef, pointing to some cute penguins, which along with octopuses, crabs, rabbits and chicks make up his collection of chocolate animals, one of the most requested “because they like both children and their families.” godparents".
The figures from cinema and television who years ago triumphed in the shop windows are increasingly being left aside, despite the fact that Barbie has also dyed Easter pink and that other films such as Star Wars keep their popularity intact. despite the passage of time. Christian Escribà refers to the saga with a brand new rocket, and proposes a wide variety of figures with other film and animation classics such as Harry Potter or Lilo
But animals have been replacing fictional characters and are a clear bet in pastry shops. In general terms, we opt for sweetened animals, rounded shapes – taking advantage of the figure of the egg – and rather exotic species, such as the chameleon or the piranha that Eric Ortuño and Ximena Pastor have created in L'Atelier, without forgetting Easter classics. like rabbits, hens and chicks.
Josep Maria Rodríguez, from La Pastisseria Barcelona, has also opted for color and animals, with his traditional figures of the parrot, the elephant, the monkey, the penguin or the tiger, to which is added a dragon and one of the characters from The canine patrol. Or Lluc Crusellas, who, if in 2023 surprised with a reduced version of the gigantic elephant with which he won the World Chocolate Master in 2022, this Easter he opts for geometric figures or three-dimensional patterns in animals such as the frog, the giraffe, the lion, the squirrel or the duck, as well as a large green egg made with white chocolate and matcha tea.
The return to essence and simplicity has also given greater prominence to the Easter egg. Signature eggs, such as L'oeuf blessé illustrated on this page or an egg with fruit popcorn, both proposed by Yann Duytsche, from the Dolç pastry shop in Sant Cugat; and other creative pieces such as those from L'Obrador de Sant Tomàs – which won the award for the best Easter monkey of 2024 with its figure of Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy –, with eggs with floral prints, abstract designs, in the shape of whale, octopus, koala or hippopotamus, with a fried egg on top...
Without leaving behind the figures of animals such as the rabbit, the monkey, the koala or the rhinoceros, although with a more minimalist style and soft colors, the Hofmann pastry shop once again uses classic cakes in its cute proposals, with a Sacher and a Sara crowned with a chick made of chocolate, which is increasingly used as a figure or decoration, at the same time that other period elements such as feathers or plastic or wooden figurines are disappearing.
In Rocambolesc, Jordi Roca and Alejandra Rivas have added this year to their collection of cuties – among which the dragon egg inspired by Game of Thrones, the Pokémon Nosepas or the Darth Vader mask stand out – a milk chocolate chicken stuffed with corn and white chocolate carambines that can be personalized with the face of the godson or goddaughter. And, as usual, among its offerings are primates, with the monkey in the form of a chimpanzee and the popular Mona Lisa.
These are proposals for 2024, some new and others that look to the past, to which are added others such as the science competition created annually by the University of Barcelona and the Gremi de Pastisseria to disseminate science and awaken vocations among children and girls. This time it is a chocolate figure of a biologist accompanied by a replica of a DNA chain and a QR code that allows access to informative biology content and games.
We must not forget the bakeries, so important in daily life, that keep the custom alive these days with classic cakes like the toña or the Cristina, with boiled egg included. And although imported preparations such as Colomba, the Easter panettone, are gaining ground, this year it seems that tradition rules.
