Coca de Sant Joan, a Catalan Tradition
Consuming coca and cava on the Nit de Sant Joan (Midsummer’s Eve) is about the most Catalan thing you can do to get into the spirit of things. Yet while it's fairly easy to find your way to a decent bottle of cave (mine is Llopart Brut Nature Integral should you be interested, which is fresh and light with just a hint of tropical fruit), coques are not quite such a sure bet. Believe me I’ve suffered through enough stale, sickly specimens to know.
Once you’ve had a good coca however, you start to understand the obsession. Coca de Sant Joan is essentially a sweet bread made using yeast, eggs and, true to the Spanish penchant for anything porky, pig fat. It’s fatter than most coques, soft and doughy on the inside with a gleaming crust that is taut and chewy rather than crunchy. Traditionally it would be topped with sugar and pine nuts, glacé fruits or marzipan and makes a great match to some fizz.
But the new-wave cocas—and I dare say I will make myself very unpopular among purists for this—are more interesting. Multi-award-winning pastry chef Carles Mampel who owns Bubó (www.bubo.es) in the Born and the Pedralbes center has one of the best menus of coca around with flavors ranging from slices of candied orange and dark chocolate, crystallized roses with hazelnut praline and vanilla cream and cherries. Ordering in advance is strongly recommended.