Castanyada's traditional marzipan treats remain popular despite rising prices

With autumn in full swing, bakeries and pastry shops across Catalonia have once again filled their displays with 'panellets,' the traditional treats of 'La Castanyada.'

These small, round marzipan cakes, which are typically enjoyed with 'castanyes', roasted chestnuts, or 'boniatos', sweet potatoes, are one of the highlights of the season.

Despite the growing popularity of traditions like Halloween, la Castanyada remains deeply rooted, and this year bakers are expecting another strong season for panellet sales.

However, prices will rise once again. The Barcelona Pastry Guild predicts an increase of between 3% and 6%, marking another consecutive year of higher costs.

Prices have climbed in recent years mainly due to the soaring cost of pine nuts, prompting many families to make panellets at home to save money.

Still, the undisputed king of the panellet family remains the pine nut variety, the most traditional and the most in demand, accounting for more than half of total sales. Other popular versions include coconut, almond, and chocolate.

Although the rise in production costs has affected nearly every sector, it has hit bakers especially hard due to big increases in the price of raw ingredients.

"Both pine nuts and almonds have suffered significant price hikes. Given the higher production and ingredient costs, we expect prices to increase by up to 6%," explained Miquel Zaquierre, president of the Barcelona Pastry Guild.

Currently, 100 grams of panellets sell for between €6 and €7, meaning that a typical family of four or five will spend around €25 on panellets this Castanyada.

Yet despite higher prices, and the influence of Halloween, the tradition remains strong. "Halloween has been pushing hard, but we’ve seen that it’s not really competition. It actually complements our tradition," Zaquierre said. 

If at one point bakers worried that Halloween might overshadow panellet sales, those concerns have now faded. 

"Many generations now celebrate Halloween while also gathering with their families to enjoy 'La Castanyada' and eat 'panellets,'" he added.

In fact, Halloween has become something of an ally, inspiring bakeries to reinvent the tradition with new creations aimed at younger audiences.

"There’s also a creative side to pastry chefs, who adapt the traditional panellets to the Halloween theme," said Zaquierre.

This has led to new designs in the shape of pumpkins or ghosts. "With this, we pastry chefs are the first to innovate and bring a touch of change to tradition," he added.