{"id":24543,"date":"2021-06-21T19:15:53","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T17:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bake-street.com\/?p=24543"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:25:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:25:54","slug":"coca-de-sant-joan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bake-street.com\/en\/coca-de-sant-joan\/","title":{"rendered":"Coca de Sant Joan, pears in syrup and Dulcey cream"},"content":{"rendered":"

I like a lot of things about summer, but there is only one thing I don’t like anymore… The hot weather. I must be getting older because I used to tolerate these temperatures very well, which I don’t do now. But, I prefer to focus on what I like and one of them is to celebrate San Juan night. And what better way to do it than preparing at home your own coca de Sant Joan<\/strong>, this year I leave you a version made with San Juan pears in syrup and Dulcey cream<\/strong>. Besides having a very different presentation to what we usually see.<\/p>\n

So, please forgive the purists because this year I have decided to give it a totally different look. I must be a bit rebellious after everything I have been through this last year…. On the other hand, please excuse me because I have been a little bit absent, but it has been for a good cause.<\/p>\n

I’ve been working hard for several weeks to bring out a new online workshop<\/strong><\/a>! It is a workshop inspired and based on Street Food<\/strong>, only that everything you learn in the workshop is street food based on bread or doughs. It is a workshop in which we not only learn to cook, knead and bake breads, but also learn many curiosities, ingredients, stories, legends and the origin of each recipe.<\/p>\n

I teach you how to elaborate 7 emblematic recipes of street food<\/strong>, although some of them contain between 3-5 different elaborations. For those of you who are curious and want to know a little more, I leave you the link to the unspervised workshop<\/strong><\/a>. At the end of the summer, new dates for the supervised version will be available.<\/p>\n

Now, let’s continue with the recipe I bring you today!<\/p>\n

\"Coca <\/picture><\/div>\n

Coca de Sant Joan origin.<\/h2>\n

Coca is a symbol of tradition in Catalan gastronomy. Its name comes from the Dutch word kok<\/strong> <\/em>at the time of the Carolingian Empire and has the same root as the word cake<\/strong> <\/em>in English or German kuchen<\/strong><\/em>. They all mean cake<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

According to Eliana Thibaut i Comalada<\/a>, chef of Catalan Cooking School of the Illa de Tet and author of gastronomic books, coca was born thanks to the use of bread dough that had not risen well. Instead of discarding it, the housewives baked it as a flat bread, covered it with sugar and served it as a dessert.<\/p>\n

There is a great variety of cocas for San Juan. They are generally sweet and usually covered with candied fruit, although in Campo de Alicante<\/em> they are usually salted and made with tuna. The recipes vary according to the town in which they are made and in some places in Franja de Arag\u00f3n, L\u00e9rida y las Tierras del Ebro<\/em> they are called c\u00f3c<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Coca <\/picture><\/div>\n

The tradition of eating it on the night of Sant Joan.<\/h2>\n

Gremio de Pasteler\u00eda de Barcelona<\/strong><\/em> argues that this tradition obeys pagan solar rites<\/strong> that have been preserved for centuries, a night where the sun is the host. This symbolism explains the primitive rounded shape of the coca, a circle with a hole in the middle that emulates the sun.<\/p>\n

Originally, the basic ingredient was bread dough marinated in oil, eggs and sugar, baked and with pine nuts as the main decoration. With the appearance of master pastry chefs, new formulas were created and new ingredients were introduced, such as cherries, apricots and all kinds of candied fruits.<\/p>\n

The tradition of this sweet is part of the Mediterranean east where it is still very present during the night of June 23rd.<\/p>\n

\"Coca <\/picture><\/div>\n

Making my coca de Sant Joan.<\/h2>\n

On the blog I left you some time ago a recipe for coca with cherries and apricots<\/strong><\/a> (old recipe only available in Spanish), as well as the recipe for coca de recapte<\/strong><\/a>. This year I wanted to develop a coca recipe with a totally different shape, in addition to achieving an incredibly tender and silky dough. And so it has been. I promise that you will fall in love with this dough, both for its flavor, softness, texture and shelf life. It keeps perfect for 3 days.<\/p>\n

The shaping is based on this marvel created by Francois Daubinet<\/strong><\/a>. I am in love with this piece from the first moment I saw it, I have pending to make it with a laminated dough, but for the moment I have been able to carry it out with an enriched dough giving shape to this coca de San Juan.<\/p>\n

To accompany it I have made a pastry cream with Dulcey chocolate, San Juan pears in syrup, laminated almonds and pearl sugar. I have no words to describe the result, it is truly the best cake I have made to date. I hope you will try it and let me know how it turned out.<\/p>\n