The day of the Virgin of the Almudena is celebrated with offerings of flowers, free concerts and tasting of the dessert created for this date: the crown of the Almudena. A bun that by its appearance, taste and shape could be confused with the roscón de reyes, but the crown has neither candied fruit (lucky for many), nor orange blossom water.
On these dates the most traditional thing in Madrid homes was to continue eating bones and fritters of All Saints’ Day, but in 1978 the Guild of Confectioners of the Villa was organized to pay tribute to the patron saint of the capital, which lacked a sweet with which to brighten your holiday. San Isidro has his doughnuts and San Antón his rolls, but the Almudena, being also the patron saint of confectioners, had to have a sweet and one of the few requirements was to make reference to the coronation of the Virgin, which took place 40 years earlier. Although the acceptance of the new dessert has been gradual.
Roberto Martín, master pastry chef at El Riojano, confesses to Madrid Secreto that in the early years the crown was not very well received by both customers and bakeries, largely because it was unknown: “It was only made and sold by establishments near Plaza Mayor and Sol, like us, La Mallorquina or El Horno de San Onofre”.
The Almudena wreath today
In the last fifteen years, the Crown has been gaining strength. Thanks in part to the Association of Pastry Chefs of Madrid, which has been responsible for safeguarding this and other typical desserts, such as torrijas, encouraging competitions and facilitating recipes on social networks. The step-by-step of the crown by master pastry chefs Jacobo and Pablo Moreno of Pastelería Mallorca can be found on YouTube.
From this association they expect that this year more than 350,000 pieces of the Almudena Wreath will be sold, which is now made by about 600 bakeries in the Community of Madrid, far from the 4 or 5 that sold it 40 years ago. The most popular crowns are half a kilo without filling and those filled with whipped cream, custard or truffle.