Let’s talk about COCA DE SANT JOAN!
St John’s Day is the 24th of June. A Catalan bank holiday perfect to kick off the Summer.
The night before, it’s the Revetlla! We eat, we drink cava, we light bonfires, we dance, we enjoy fireworks (etc) and we eat a very special Coca.
There are several types of it.
As always, traditional, regional and local varieties may vary.
For practical reasons, I will make only one type of Coca de Sant Joan: the one with “the works”. The whole list of toppings!
I’ve been organising Revetlles in London for years and this formula is a crowd pleaser. I promise.
The anatomy of a Coca de Sant Joan
The base is an enriched dough. Think of a flat brioche.
Then there’s lines of Crema: lemon and cinnamon infused crème pâtissière.
Different types of Candied Fruit: Mixed Peel, Pumpkin (a.k.a. “the green stuff”) and Cherries.
Plenty of Pine Nuts scattered all over.
And anís-drizzled chunks of sugar.
This isn’t something you can find in London.
Some ingredients are actually very difficult to get.
But here we are, bringing you the Taste of Home!
How does it work?
Once again, the magic of freezing will play an important part.
Your Coca will be prepared and half-baked, then frozen.
And just like you did with Canelons, you’ll keep it frozen until needed, then quickly use your oven on the day of your Revetlla.
Don’t worry, you will have the instructions here so you can check them on your phone.
I promise it’s easy peasy, and a method to ensure your Coca will be fresh.
What’s the size/servings?
This Coca comes in a foil tray. Measurements are 32x20cm. This means it’s easy enough to fit in a domestic freezer.
This size serves 6 people quite generously, and up to 8.
Of course, it will depend on the nature of your celebration: if there’s dancing, there’ll also be sneaky nibbling on Coca all through the night until it’s all gone.
You might want to take that into account!
Now what you need to do is make room in your freezer, buy some Cava and Sparklers and find a festive playlist.
