The Mervier Canal pastry shop in Barcelona has created Victoria, a new glazed chestnut cream cake that pays homage to the soprano Victoria de los Ángeles, whose birth centenary is commemorated this year. The recipe has already been made available to all members of the Gremi de Pastisseria de Barcelona with the aim that from now on they include the Victoria among the cakes they usually offer to their customers. With this initiative, fruit of a commission from the Victoria de los Ángeles Foundation, the Catalan capital wants to recover a very characteristic pastry tradition of the city: creating cakes inspired by international artists who have left a deep mark on Barcelona.
Thus, we are all familiar with seeing cakes called Sara or Massini in shop windows, but surely few citizens know that Sara is a cake dedicated to the French actress Sarah Bernhardt, and that Massini was inspired by the Italian tenor Angelo Masini. Bernhardt (Paris, 1844-1923), also known as La Divina Sarah, was one of the best-known and most celebrated theatrical performers of the 19th century long before the appearance of Hollywood and its stars. During the actress's stay in Barcelona, the city's pastry chefs created Sara, a fluffy sponge cake filled and covered with buttercream and decorated with almond palet or slices.
Also at the end of the 19th century, the Massini was created to honor Angelo Masini, who performed with great success at the Teatre del Liceu on repeated occasions, especially between 1881 and 1887, when he participated in leading roles in the operas Rigoletto, Faus, Les Huguenots, Lucrezia Borgia, La Traviata, Fra Diavolo, Il Barbiere di Seviglia and Aida. The Massini, according to the Pastry Guild, is the quintessential cake for great celebrations and consists of a thick layer of cream and another of truffle resting between two sheets of sponge cake, with the top covered with burnt cream.
Now, the pastry chef Lluís Estrada, from Mervier Canal, has created Victoria with a recipe that seeks "a perfect harmony of classic textures and flavors combining the warmth of meringue, hazelnut and buttercream with marron glacé, and with the small acidic counterpoint of cassis (blackcurrant)". According to Estrada, the cake is the result of a joint documentation effort with the Victoria de los Ángeles Foundation to find a balance of flavors that reflect her art and her devotion to pastry. "Nothing would make us happier than for pastry chefs to make this cake their own and create their own versions," says Estrada, with the wish that the Victoria also becomes a classic like the Sara and the Massini.
As a curiosity, the Victoria cake is made with egg whites, hazelnut flour, sugar and flour and consists of a layer of marron glacé cream, a meringue sheet and a layer of cassis truffle made with the pulp of this fruit and white chocolate coating. It is decorated with pieces of marron glacé and gold leaf.
Born in Barcelona in 1923, Victoria de los Ángeles is considered one of the great lyrical figures of the 20th century. The Foundation that bears her name has prepared a program of actions to commemorate her centenary, vindicating her figure as an artist, woman, pioneer and as one of the references that emerged in the country during the last century. The cake was presented in New York during the inauguration of an exhibition to celebrate the centenary year.