Traditional Easter cake

We are on the threshold of Easter, and if there's one thing children eagerly expect it's the Easter mona. Although there are many versions and varieties today, we encourage you to make one of the most traditional. This is the recipe brought to us by Rosa, from Pemberley Cup&Cakes, the traditional Easter mona recipe. Have a very sweet Easter!

Taking advantage of the upcoming holidays, this time it's the turn of the traditional Easter mona. Depending on where you are, you may know exactly what that means. Or not so much. In my case, being from Alicante, the mona de Pascua is a cherished tradition I grew up with, year after year, and it will always be associated with a whole collection of unforgettable childhood memories.

For those less familiar, I will tell you that it is a type of sweet bun, typical of the Aragonese, Valencian, Catalan, Castilla-La Mancha regions and some areas of Murcia, whose dough is very similar to that of the Roscón de Reyes, so its preparation requires some planning and patience. Generally, it has a rounded shape (sometimes elongated, depending on the baker's custom), although there are also ones shaped like animals, such as snakes, lizards or even turtles. According to tradition, godparents or grandparents give them to their godchildren on Easter Sunday. In fact, the origin of its name seems to come from the Arabic term "munna", which means “gift”.

Easter Sunday (often including Monday), coinciding with the end of Lent and therefore its abstinences, is a custom to go out to the countryside to spend the day with friends and/or family and eat the mona at the afternoon snack. Chocolate must not be missing, although it is also common to accompany the day with a good supply of Easter longanizas and countless dishes and snacks prepared at home for the occasion.

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It is also customary to place a boiled egg (or several) on the mona. However, for some years now and under the influence of other regions and countries where this festival is celebrated similarly, we can see them decorated or accompanied with chocolate eggs. Sometimes, painted eggs in different colors or quail eggs are also used (especially in monas intended for the little ones). Tradition dictates — one of those unforgettable memories — that you must smash the egg on another person's forehead while reciting the following chant:

Although today's recipe is the closest to the traditional and most widespread historically, there are many variations: in addition to the many shapes you can find today, Easter monas can be lavishly decorated with feathers, chicks, chocolate figures, sliced almonds, colored sprinkles, etc. They can even be made as a filled cake and/or coated with a wide variety of creams: toasted egg yolk, chocolate ganache, pastry cream, meringue (typical in the Balearic Islands), etc.

Ingredients (for 2 large monas / 3 medium)

All ingredients should be at room temperature, unless otherwise indicated

For the preferment:
120 ml of water, warm
10 g of fresh baker's yeast
130 g of strong bread flour

For the main dough:
130 g of white sugar
Finely grated zest of one orange (only the orange part)
10 g of fresh baker's yeast
390-420 g of strong bread flour
3 eggs (M)
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
1 tablespoon mild honey (orange blossom, acacia, rosemary, etc.)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
80 ml of mild olive oil

To finish:
1 beaten egg
White sugar
2-3 boiled eggs

*1 tablespoon=15 ml ; 1 teaspoon=5ml*

Method

For the preferment:

1. In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water (Careful, never hot, only slightly warm to the touch!). Let rest 1 minute.
2. In another bowl, place the flour, make a well in the center and, little by little, add the previous mixture while stirring with a spatula or wooden spoon until everything is well integrated into a dense and quite sticky dough.
3. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight (8 to 12 hours maximum).
4. In the morning, remove from the refrigerator (despite the cold, the dough will have noticeably risen and become aerated) and let it come to room temperature until it loses the chill completely (about 1 - 1 ½ hours approximately).

For the main dough:

1. In a medium bowl, rub the sugar and the orange zest thoroughly with your fingertips until the fruit has released the oils from its peel and the mixture resembles damp sand. Set aside.
2. In another large bowl, initially place 390 g of the strong flour and make a well in the center using a spatula (if you are going to use a food processor or electric mixer to knead, use its own bowl and dough hook). Then add the crumbled yeast, the eggs, lightly beaten beforehand, the orange blossom water, the honey, the orange juice and the flavored sugar (step 1) and mix gently until the ingredients are more or less well combined. You will get a loosely cohesive dough with some visible bits of flour.
3. Next, add the preferment prepared earlier, now at room temperature, and combine until both mixtures are well integrated; you will end up with a dense, firm and still somewhat dry dough.
4. Then, add the oil in a thin stream gradually while continuing to mix. Once fully incorporated, start kneading more vigorously for about 8-10 minutes (a little longer if kneading by hand) until you achieve a smooth, homogeneous and elastic dough, although a bit greasy at first. If after 5 minutes of kneading it is still too sticky, you can add the remaining 30 g of flour, tablespoon by tablespoon, until you obtain the desired texture (you may not need to add it all). If kneading by hand and the dough sticks excessively, you can grease your hands with a little oil, as well as the surface on which you knead. You will know the dough is well kneaded when it pulls away easily from the bowl (or from your hands and the work surface); this means the gluten has developed properly. To be sure, take a pinch of dough between the thumb and index finger of both hands, stretch gently and check if a translucent, smooth membrane forms. If so, it's ready.
5. Now shape the dough into a ball with your hands, place it in a large bowl previously greased with a thin film of vegetable oil, cover with cling film and let rest in a warm place (no more than 24ºC) away from drafts until it has doubled in volume (about 2 - 2 ½ hours).
6. Meanwhile, you can boil the eggs to decorate your monas. Let them cool completely.
7. Once the first rise is complete, deflate the dough by pressing it a few times with your knuckles, transfer it to a work surface, cover loosely with cling film and let it relax for about 10 minutes.
8. This step is optional: Separate a small portion of dough (about the size of a mandarin; slightly larger if making 3 small monas) and set aside.
9. Divide the rest of the dough into as many equal parts as monas you will make, cutting it with a large knife that is well sharpened or a baker's scraper (never tear it by hand), and shape each piece into a ball until you achieve good surface tension. Again, let the dough relax another 5-10 minutes.
10. Next, shape the monas: slightly flatten each ball and open a hollow with your fingers on the top of the dough (but without piercing through), where you will place the boiled egg. If the dough tends to shrink back, it may not be sufficiently relaxed; in that case, let it rest another 5-10 minutes to make it easier to handle.
11. Cut the small reserved piece of dough (step 8) into 4 equal parts (or 6 if making 3 small monas) and roll them individually lengthwise into rounded strips. Then “enclose” the eggs with two strips of dough arranged in the shape of a cross over each one.
12. Then place your monas on a non-stick baking tray, or on the oven tray previously lined with baking paper or on a silicone mat and, using a pastry brush, paint the entire surface of the dough with beaten egg. Cover loosely with cling film, previously greased with a thin film of vegetable oil, and once again let rest in a warm place away from drafts until they double in volume (about 1 ½ - 2 hours more).
13. When you see the monas are almost ready, preheat the electric oven (no fan) to 180ºC with top and bottom heat.
14. Brush the entire surface of the dough again with the beaten egg and decorate with a little white sugar, lightly moistened with just a few drops of water.
15. Place the tray with the monas in the lower third of the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes until well browned (if you see them browning too much, you can loosely place some aluminum foil over them).
16. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

The tenderness of this type of baked goods lasts only the first day, that is, freshly made. However, they can remain reasonably soft for 1-2 more days if well protected from the air.

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Notes

- As you will see, there are several hours of waiting (not so many hours of work) before you can enjoy your homemade Easter mona. If you plan to make them for an afternoon snack, start the night before; before lunch, you'll have them ready. You'll be a hit!
- If not all the monas fit on the same oven tray (they will continue to expand during baking, so leave a good space between them), bake them in batches, keeping the ones waiting to be baked covered with cling film and away from oven heat.
- If you want to add a splash of color, painting the boiled eggs is very simple: dissolve a few drops of food coloring of the chosen color (paste or gel) in a couple of tablespoons of vinegar and brush the shell of the eggs, already boiled and cold, until fully covered. Let them dry completely before placing them on the mona dough.
- This type of dough, once baked, can be frozen without problem. As soon as it cools, wrap it in cling film first and aluminum foil afterwards; it keeps in perfect condition for at least a couple of months. To defrost, take it out of the freezer the night before and keep it at room temperature until it becomes soft again.

I hope you are encouraged to prepare your own homemade Easter mona; the satisfaction is enormous (and the difference with commercial versions even greater). So a hug to everyone and Happy Easter!

Rosa