Barcelona bakeries Hofmann and Faixat have taken top honours in Catalonia’s annual Best Sant Joan Cake competition, held at the Antiga Fàbrica Damm. Hofmann won the best creative Sant Joan cake award, while Faixat came second in the 'llardons' category.
The contest drew a record 88 bakeries and pastry shops, which entered 302 cakes. It is part of the run-up to Sant Joan, one of Catalonia’s key summer celebrations, and includes categories for traditional, cream, 'llardons', chocolate and creative cakes.
Mari Cruz Baró, director of the Barcelona Bakers' Guild School, said the competition has become increasingly important because a win can lift sales and visibility for a business. The judging panel included bakers, pastry chefs and gastronomy professionals, who assessed entries on appearance, texture, aroma, flavour and originality.
At Hofmann, pastry chefs Martín de Luca and Carla Peyrón said their winning cake used green dough and a filling inspired by a pistachio dessert, with pistachio cream, orange compote and passion fruit. At Faixat, Enric Faixat and Gisela de Luz kept the details of their 'llardons' cake private, saying people should come and taste it. They said they spent two weeks refining the recipe and made 12 cakes on the morning of the competition.
Other winners came from across Catalonia. Forn Cabrianes, originally from Sant Fruitós de Bages and now with a shop in Sarrià, Barcelona, won best chocolate Sant Joan cake. Pastisseria Arenas Molins, which started in Molins de Rei and has a shop in Barcelona, took silver in the cream and pine nut category. The top prize for the best traditional Sant Joan cake went to Pastisseria Tornès in Girona, while Alejandro Pastisser from Mataró was second. El Sagà in Granollers won both the best 'llardons' and chocolate categories.
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