Mones: Catalunya's Easter Treat

In Catalunya, the most important culinary Easter tradition is making the 'Mona de Pasqua' cake. Traditionally, the 'mona' is the present that a godparent bakes and/or gives to the god-children at Easter. The story is that during Lent (the 40 days before Easter), devout Catholics were not allowed to eat meat and eggs, so they saved the eggs until Easter and used them to make cakes then. The traditional shape is a round cake, similar to a big doughnut, with unpeeled boiled eggs baked in it. The number of eggs is supposed to be the age of the godchild, but no less than two and no more than 12, so no 'mona’s' for the big kids! Nowadays a 'mona' can take many shapes and forms, and also comes in chocolate versions. Here are a few we found at specialty shops at Easter 2010.

Sara Blaylock

Foix de Sarrià

A mona from the 3-D blockbuster film 'Up'.