Easter time in Spain is full of tradition and celebration, and with this comes lots of sweet treats! In pastry shops and cafes you will find displays of chocolate figures, pastries and other candies, as well as traditional Easter cakes, known as the "mona."
This Easter cake is very typical throughout many regions in Spain and has grown quite popular. The common practice of the tradition is that the Godparents will gift the Mona to their Godchildren on Easter Sunday and then on Monday, a day of festivity in Catalonia, the whole family sits together and eats the Mona at home. The cake, given on Easter day, is symbolic of the end of the Lenten season and the beginning of Spring!
The once simple, ring-shaped cake has taken on many new, and more elaborate forms over the course of time. Today, most of the cakes have fun and exciting themes with popular children’s characters made of chocolate or marzipan. More traditional cakes will maintain an artfully simplistic style, usually with chocolate bunnies and festive eggs.
If this tasty tradition has your sweet tooth on alert, consider checking out a fun and educational spot this season, the Chocolate Museum! Located in Barcelona, they offer a range of activities and classes for all age groups. The museum aims to develop awareness and the publicizing of chocolate culture to increase the gastronomic prestige given to it, along with the country’s chocolate-making and confectionery tradition.
You can check out more about the Museu de Chocolata here, and be sure to look into local bakery offerings for a mona de pasqua in the coming weeks. If you are looking for a sweet treat a little more off the beaten path and local, consider Bonboneria Pons, a chocolate factory that offers an exquisite collection of chocolates, nougats, and Monas.