The Mona de Pascua is one of those crazy sweet traditions of the country of Easter. The story of an uncertain origin says that the word “mona” does not come from any primate, but from the Arabic munna, which would mean something like “provision for the mouth”, a gift that the Moors gave to their lords and that was synonymous with fertility, hope and rebirth.
The uncertain legend says that this custom evolved into the godfathers and godmothers having to give their godchildren, at this time, a rosc贸n with an egg for each year that the child was twelve years old. At some point, this progressed to the current model, where bakeries compete with each other to design the best chocolate monkey, the one with the most spectacular shapes and the one that best matches the cartoon or fashion toy of the year.
Whatever the origin, the truth is that Easter is a real tournament of chocolate art, a time of fantasy where confectioners bring out their best skills to build impressive chocolate figures. We bring you some of the best monas in the city so that you can be sure to get it right when it comes to taking care of your godchild.
Pastisseria Carri贸
Siblings Oriol and Anna Carri贸 continue with the pastry legacy of their family after more than 40 years and do not miss the appointment again with two very different proposals. On the one hand, a mona of Italian tradition based on an orange and chocolate panetone in the shape of a dove. On the other, Catalan tradition with a typical Cristina filled with chocolate cream.
With prices of 18 and 15 euros respectively, the first of the monas is already available in your store until next Easter Monday. The traditional one will be served from March 28.
馃搷 Bail茅n, 216.
Jon Cake
Jon Cake, the creative place of Jon Garc铆a, its pastry chef and owner, presents this 2024 a personal version of the traditional Catalan mona revisited in a Basque key: a crown of butter brioches with a butter whipped cream filling and, crowning the center, a chocolate egg. You’ll find it at Jon Cake&Wines.
馃搷 Gelabert, 42.
Tea Shop and Lluc Clusellas
Tea Shop ‘s collaboration for 2024 is with master pastry chef Lluc Clusellas, the Catalan who in 2022 won the title of Best Chocolatier in the World at the World Chocolate Masters international competition held in Paris.
For this year, for 29.95 euros, you can get a white chocolate Easter egg with matcha tea, created by him. Available soon at his store Eukarya.
馃搷 Lleida, 23.
Easter animals by Lluc Clusellas
We do not leave the workshop of one of the best Catalan chocolatiers to make special mention to his own collection of monas inspired by animals that you can usually enjoy Eukarya, as well as El Carme Pastisseria (Rambla de les Davallades, 21, Vic) and El Gurbi Degustaci贸 (Carrer Jacint Verdaguer, 20, Gurb). Their designs are spectacular.
馃搷 Lleida, 23.
Mones de Ci猫ncia
For yet another year, the Barcelona Confectioners Guild and the University of Barcelona have joined forces to create a scientific monkey to encourage children to explore this field with interest and curiosity. The creation represents Mia, the central character of the project made of chocolate. It can be purchased in more than twenty locations in Catalonia.
馃搷 Several locations (check here)
L’Atelier
Monas that are toys. During Easter L’Atelier, a haute patisserie store in the Eixample, also becomes a toy shop with the Mascotas Playing monas, a fun playful and analogical proposal that aims to amuse the little ones of the house with a delicious chocolate finish.
馃搷 Viladomat, 140 bis.
Hofmann
The best pastry shop in Barcelona is back with their animal-inspired monkeys, like this black and white chocolate rhinoceros that we show you above. They also have a lion version and will be available from March 15.
馃搷 Flassanders, 44 and Pau Casals, 5.
Patisseria Escrib脿
Of course this article could not miss a classic pastry in Barcelona. The patisseria Escrib脿 was founded in 1906 under the name Forn Serra and today is run by Christian Escrib脿, the 4th generation of the Escrib脿 family.
For this Easter they have put on sale a spectacular selection of monas with the cutest shapes, among which is, for example, this cute bear. In addition to the animal-inspired monkeys, they also have others inspired by themes such as Harry Potter, One Piece or the Canine Patrol, among others.
馃搷 Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 546.
Canal, the classic
Everything in Canal breathes tradition. Although it is a modern bakery that keeps winning awards, entering its cafeteria on Muntaner street and sitting down to have a coffee while the smell of the bakery and the counter make us salivate connects us with those bakeries that we stopped to look at as children walking down the street.
Their mona de Pascua does the same. Its flavor is the same as always, with moist pessic pa, an apricot jam in the middle that gives it the necessary touch, the cream crowning and the eggs and candied fruit on top that remind us that this is a traditional Catalan sweet. They also have chocolate and fantasy versions, but the classics never fail.
馃搷C/ de Muntaner, 566 – C/ de Calvet, 15