The Alsatian pastry chef who makes the best Sant Joan cake in Barcelona's Gràcia neighborhood (who doesn't like candied fruit)

BarcelonaOn Verdi Street in Barcelona, ​​almost opposite the Verdi cinemas, is the amusingly named Morreig pastry shop. The first step you take kisses you with a buttery aroma. I tell the pastry chef, Matthieu Atzenhoffer, born in Haguenau (Alsace), whose name is Kissing It's funny for a pastry shop that sells ice cream, croissants, and now, for St. John's Day, cakes and ice cream cakes, this summer's big new addition. Atzenhoffer is dressed in a white jacket, like a chef, with the colors of the French flag on the collar. "The name was suggested to us by an agency we asked for help, because we weren't convinced by any of them, and when they told us, we thought it was appropriate because the concept combines the pastries we make with ice cream, our only two specialties," he says. He also confesses that the word snogging I hadn't met her before, because she's been in Catalonia for twelve years. And then we move on to another topic, the reason for her attire, because she noticed I was paying attention: when she was already living in Barcelona, ​​she took the exam in France for the most prestigious master craftsmanship qualification, which a minister studied for in 2019. The government obtained this qualification at the Sorbonne University. The pastry chef takes pride in the qualification, hence his official attire for work.

Dressed, then, in the jacket of a French master craftsman, these days, in addition to croissants or chocolate bird breadsHe spends many hours in the bakery making Sant Joan cakes. The Alsatian pastry chef has been doing this for just two years, and this year he won first prize in the traditional cake category at the 7th Annual Best Sant Joan Coca Contest, organized by the gastronomic communications agency Sr y Sra Cake. And that's despite having to add candied fruit, as required by the contest rules, even though he doesn't like it. "The first year for Morreig, last year, we made it with just candied orange and pine nuts, and that's it," he comments. This year he's selling it just as he took it to the contest. He can't change it because he understands that people will order exactly the same one as the winner. "I think it's absurd that a cake we put 48 hours of work into, with high-quality ingredients, is then finished with store-bought, very sugary candied fruit, because many people end up removing it and leaving it on the plate." I agree with him. He assures me that the bakery, which is small and measures forty square meters, lacks the infrastructure to make his candied fruit. They bought it, and the quality has been checked, but he still thinks that the best thing for Sant Joan cake is the bun (no colorings, no added flavorings, natural) and the local pine nuts.

We address the bun. I ask him how he makes it, and he tells me he's a pastry chef because his family made a lot of them when he was little. When he grew up, he studied business, but realized he didn't like it, so he decided to try a trade, and pastry-making caught his attention. In France, bread ovens make buns because they're the ones who master the fermentation, while pastry chefs dedicate themselves to other techniques, which in no way have to do with fermented doughs. That's why The bread ovens make the croissants, and croissants at lower prices than in Barcelona, ​​​​he admits, yes. "Although I think it's fairer to sell them for €1.90, which is the price we have at Morreig, because making a croissant requires experience and also a 48-hour fermentation."

In France, the bun has a recipe with specific ingredients, which is as follows: for every kilo of flour, you need 350 grams of butter and 400 grams of egg. "In Catalonia, I've noticed that everyone follows their own recipe," but the pastry chef explains that the bun has no secrets; the only thing needed is patience, because you have to let it rise for the dough to develop flavors and textures. The longer the better. "If you want to do it quickly, then you run the risk of the bun drying out." It's also true that the oval shape of the San Juan cake and its thin thickness don't generally help the bun last for days without drying out. "A cake weighing one kilo or more will last longer than a very small one," he points out. But whatever the shape, the best advice is to protect "the cake from the air; so as soon as the cuts are made, if there are any leftovers, store them in the box so they don't dry out."

Cake preservation tips

More advice from the baker. If you buy a custard tart, if you're going to eat it the same day, it doesn't need to be refrigerated, but if there are any leftovers and it's not going to be eaten again until the next day, then it does need to be refrigerated. Another story is the crème brulee tart, like the one they make, which they place in the middle of the bun. "I always keep the crème brulee tart in the refrigerator until it's time to eat it," he says.

We continue talking about the San Juan cake, and she tells me that in addition to flour, butter, and eggs, she also adds milk, orange blossom water (a little), and lemon and orange zest because she uses candied fruit (which she doesn't like in cakes). Everything else involves hours of resting the dough.

Finally, we discuss the few days left until San Juan, and the baker assures me he can't say how many cakes he's made. "We've opened a website so you can place orders. We think it's more organized because we make them as they're ordered." Besides, this year everyone warns us that it's a San Juan long weekend, and that we might get a lot of orders on Fridays, and not so many on the eve itself, June 23rd. It's difficult to predict how many he'll sell, although he admits that they've noticed the impact since the day after the award.

I ask for the prices, and he tells me that the 700-gram cake will cost 30 euros; the cream cake, 32 euros; and the crème brulee, 36 euros, so in this case the cake will weigh 900 grams.

The last question: what dreams do you want to achieve with Morreig? And the first thing he tells me: having more free time. And also giving a nod to Alsatian tradition: on New Year's Eve, maybe I'll make a pretzel with shortbread dough; it will be a way of marrying (and there's no need to refer to the bakery's name again) Catalan tradition with that of Alsace.

The winning bakeries in other categories

• Best cream and pine nut cake: Rovira Bakery, from Santa Agnés de Malanyanes, in Roca del Vallés.
• Best pork rind cake: El Rincón bakery in Granollers.
• Best chocolate cake: Coca de Folgueroles, in Folgueroles.
• Best creative cake: Natcha Bakery, from the Sarrià neighborhood.