Easter and vacation days are coming. The little ones in the house are ready to start their days off from school and the older ones are organizing their trips. However, few know well about the origin of these holidays that culminate with Easter and the essential Mona de Pascua.
Easter Monday is the day on which the Easter cake is consumed. This term comes from the Arabic word 'munna', which means 'provision of the mouth'. It is a gift that the Moors gave to their lords and is synonymous with fertility and rebirth.
The Mona also symbolizes that Lent and its abstinences are over. That is why this bun of flour, egg, sugar and salt was prepared, very similar to the roscón de reyes, which we will explain how to prepare.
In some towns in Spain it is called ''burnt bread'' or ''toña'' and figures of snakes or lizards are added.
However, the traditional mona carries boiled eggs painted in colors, with feathers and chicks and it is the godparents or grandparents who are in charge of giving it to the godchildren on Easter Sunday . Traditionally, the cake is given as a gift after mass, putting in it the same number of eggs as the child is older, up to 12 years old.
In any case, it is also believed that the monkey may have been born in Russia, where Orthodox monks prepared this sweet at Easter.
Currently, Monas have become sophisticated to the point that we can find them in many forms, with fun characters and touches of other different flavors. The recipe we present to you today, for example, is a simple way to create a traditional cake with a touch of syrup and a filling of delicious bitter orange jam, which will contrast with the sweet chocolate of the topping.
Plan to invest a maximum of 3 hours in making your homemade mona. Take advantage!
CUTE EASTER RECIPE
Ingredients (1 mona about 22 cm in diameter):
For the Genoese sponge cake:
- 4 eggs (cold so that the whites set well)
- 120 g sugar
- 140 g loose flour
Syrup (optional):
- 100g water
- 70 g brown sugar
Stuffed:
- Bitter orange jam (modify to taste)
Chocolate cover:
- 150 ml whipping cream
- 150 g chocolate drops 70% cocoa
- 75 g butter
To decorate:
- Almond kernel
- Chocolate egg
- Chicks
- Feathers
- Colored dragees, candied fruit, etc?
Preparation (3 hours approx.):
For the mass:
1. Heat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Separate the yolks from the whites.
3. Beat the yolks with half the sugar until they are very fluffy and pale yellow.
4. Whip the egg whites until stiff with the rest of the sugar. It is important that they are well assembled because this cake does not contain yeast and the egg whites will provide volume and sponginess.
5. Sift the flour
6. Add a quarter of the egg whites to the yolks and sugar mixture. Mix with a pastry tongue and with soft and enveloping movements.
7. Add a third of the flour to the yolk mixture and mix carefully.
8. Now add another part of egg whites and then another part of flour. Repeat this process until the flour and egg whites are completely added to the yolk mixture.
9. The final dough must be homogeneous and very spongy.
10. Grease a mold of about 20 or 22 cm in diameter with butter and sprinkle it with flour. Pour the dough into the mold and bake for about 25 or 30 minutes.
11. When the dough is ready, open the oven door a little and leave it half open for about 5 minutes.
12. Remove the Genoese cake from the oven and let it cool completely (approximately one hour).
Syrup:
13. Put the water and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Let cool.
Stuffed:
14. Cut the cold cake in half and paint both halves with the syrup.
15. Spread the orange marmalade on the base of the cake and cover with the top half. We now have the mona stuffed and ready to cover with chocolate.
16. Put a little syrup on the top of the cake, so the icing will set better.
Coverage:
17. In a container, put the chocolate with the diced butter.
18. Heat the cream until it boils.
19. Pour the boiling cream into the container with the chocolate and butter. Let it rest for a couple of minutes without stirring.
20. Stir the mixture well until there are no chocolate lumps and the mixture is shiny and smooth.
21. Cover the cake with the coverage. Smooth the top with a spatula and cover the edges of the cake well.
22. It is important to do this step on an oven rack, so the excess coverage will not stain the base of our cake.
23. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
24. Cover the edges of our mona with almond grains or colored noodles, etc.
25. Decorate our monkey with what we like the most.
Enjoy!
