Panettone madness in a tiny Pyrenean village

Panettone is a dessert born in Italy, but in the past few years it is becoming a classic in Catalonia's Christmas meals, along with turrons, the traditional Christmassy nougat, and neules, some sort of wafer rolls.

Yet, the surge of these cakes in the country is especially relevant in Beget, a tiny village with 17 residents part of Camprodon municipality, right in the Catalan eastern Pyrenees.

A bakery called Ricolta, located in this town, is finding success this Christmas by selling such desserts –in a few days, they have already sold over 500 units, more than last year, and they are still yet to sell those for New Year's Day.

"This Christmas season has been overwhelming. We had all the panettoni booked in advance, we’ve sold many more than last year, and people from other parts of Catalonia have come to buy them, and we have also sold some units to Valencia and Aragon" says to the Catalan News Agency (ACN) Anabel Botello, president of the cooperative running the bakery.

"We are in a very isolated village. We depend on tourists coming at the weekend, and we also make deliveries on Fridays."

Ricolta bakes two kinds of panettone: three chocolates and sweetened fruit, and they try to keep it local.

"Most people use Italian flour for panettone, but we use local Catalan flour, even though it is more difficult," says Botello.

Baking this kind of cakes is not easy, because each unit needs three days for the whole process, which in Ricolta is also unique because their sourdough has no yeast.

"Panettone contains a lot of butter, eggs and sugar, so it’s complicated. The sourdough has to be very well-trained for the final product to turn out well," explains Rosa Llorca, another partner who works at the cooperative.

"It’s very easy to make a mistake that ruins the whole dough. When a panettone turns out well, it makes you happy all day!"