700,000 artisanal Easter cakes expected to be sold this year

Easter is a time of tradition for many countries around the world, and Catalonia is no different. “La Mona de Pasqua,” or Easter cake in English, is one of the main highlights of the holiday for many families throughout the country. This year, bakers expect to sell 700,000 artisanal Easter cakes, marking an increase of 1% compared to 2017.

The Mona de Pasqua, a sponge cake usually topped with chocolate and occasionally figures, is traditionally eaten on Easter Sunday or Monday. As times evolve, however, so have versions of the cake’s toppings. This year some of the biggest sellers include characters from Star Wars, Disney, and even Barcelona football players.

Prices of these personalized cakes can vary from 20 to 100 euros. “If the product is good, the customer understands that the price is different from what is more widely on offer,” explained Elies Miró of the Barcelona and Province Pastry Association.

With artisanal Easter cakes customers can choose to personalize them to their liking. “As we are the ones that make the chocolate, not factories, we can make the figure the customer wants,” said Josep González of the Association of Aritsanal Bakers. “This is something that cannot be found in other places that are not artisanal like us,” he went on to say.

Fall in sales in Tarragona

In the province Tarragona, however, artisanal sales of the Easter cake have dropped by 40% compared to last year. It is estimated that a total of around 30,000 will be sold this year compared to the 50,000 sold in 2017. The Association of Artisanal Bakers put this decrease down to a rise in Easter cakes produced on a mass scale, rather than in the artisanal way.