The craziest croissants in Barcelona

Don’t let the end of the world catch me without a croissant in my pocket, for God’s sake. Few inventions spread as much happiness as this universal whim born in Austria and raised in France. Only a vampire or other food-incapacitated vermin would say no to a good croissant, especially in this time of insanity. gourmet. The workshops of Barcelona are on fire. The croissant has been dressed up with the best butter and puff pastry. The artifacts more crazy present fancy stuffing and shout your name from shop windows the boldest patisseries. The traditional horned shapes have given way to crisp magma-filled ziggurats, ready to erupt on your palate. These croissant shrines play in another league: welcome to the half moon club.

to open calçot

modern tradition

From tiramisu, raspberry jam, Sara cake … On The Cantonada They are not short on explosive croissants. They have one foot in the traditional neighborhood bakery and the other in the new confectionery trends, and in this Middle Land of the artisan croissant they make plump, colorful and appetizing pieces that have a legion of followers. Tradition and modernity dance harmoniously in his generous creations. As if that were not enough, on Fridays they put on sale an amazing invention: the calçots croissant, with its romesco sauce and extra serving of sweetness… Mandatory gobble it up with a bib. Dos de Maig, 314. Instagram: @lacantonada.fornpastisseria

urban puff pastry

Tiger’s Eye

The croissants of Le Tigre Cakes they are wasteful on a cosmic scale. In this new generation urban patisserie they don’t skimp on the big stuff. And their generosity is not only appreciated in the quantity, but also in the quality of the product: high-flying raw material, daily elaborations, alveolo power in the dough, layers and layers of crunchy happiness… And with some wild fillings that explode out violently and spill on your fingers. Your croissant Pink Pantherinspired by the eighties cupcake of the same name, is already legendary, but do not disrespect the one from red velvet or to Nutella Terminatora panzer overloaded with cocoa cream, which claims lives, souls and everything that is put in front of it. diagonal, 430. letigrecakes.com

holy croissants

champion flavor

Albert Roca is a pastry genius. I’m not saying it, it’s what they shout cosmic croissants every time you bite them. Without additives, well fermented, with an impossible puff pastry and an alveolus from another galaxy, Albert’s croissants denote a dedication typical of a restaurant dish, not in vain Saint Croi has won the award for best butter croissant in Spain on two occasions. And he deserved it mutt-croissant It is for people over 18 years old. the of gianduja hits hard on the palate. and the one of mascarpone, oh, the one with mascarpone… Many memorable mascarpone croissants have entered my body, but the Sant Croi croissant is like reconnecting with your first love: all tenderness, sparkle and sensuality in puff pastry. Padua, 91. Bassegoda, 56. santcroi.com

fantasy island

Pol’s mass

Pol Torres belongs to a new, ahem, batch of pastry chefs who have lost their fear of tightrope walking without a net. On The Bakers some of them bloom the wackiest creations that server has tasted in croissant format. Pol works the little ones with Japanese dedication, takes care of the dough and fermentation, rejects Chichinabo butter, and seeks a croissant with a crispy exterior laminate and bubbles like golf balls in the crumb. From there, he lets the clamp go, bad thing. I love the simplicity and grandeur of your tuna croissantbut in sweets there is the mambo: the one with chocolate with orange or the one of baked apple with cinnamon They are round trip tickets to paradise. First and at a low cost price. And don’t miss out on holiday-themed croissants, like the one from egg sausage for Easter or orange cream and pine nuts for Sant Joan. Padilla, 168. www.thebakers.es

pit stop

pistachio chrome

If this were a motoring article, now it would be time to talk about the Ferraris. Signature croissants Brunell’s They are high-end cars. Chrome bugs, menacing, with the most exquisite finishes on the market. This bakery founded in the mid-nineteenth century and rescued not long ago won the award for best butter croissant in Spain in 2020 with all fairness, and maintains the level in its creations with the largest displacement. His signature croissants they roar fiercely in the windows (I swear that one day I tried one of sweet potato), but there is a specimen that emits flames and smoke, a device not suitable for lay drivers: the pistachio croissant, a forceful single-seater of haute pastry, a Formula 1 with supreme puffiness and great sponginess that can barely contain the avalanche of pistachio cream. It numbs tongues and encourages naps. He is a “monster”, Rosario Flores dixit. Princess, 22. brunells.barcelona

The biggest

immense love

They were among the first to bet on the high pastry croissant and the brand hofmann It continues to be a benchmark as a great kaiju in this field. Few croissants can compete with his handcrafted pieces -the mascarpone and raspberry croissants continue to break the hearts of nutritionists-, but in his wide web of crescent moons his XXL croissants. We’re talking pieces that would crush your dachshund and that are a hit at group celebrations. And don’t be scared by its volume, the quality standards are the same: puff pastry crust with a thousand and one layers, foamy dough and creamy jet fillings. Size doesn’t matter, they say. At Hofmann they disagree. Flashers, 44. hofmannpasteleria.com

‘Boutique’ of the sweet tooth

magic cones

The croissant dough is a l’Atelier what the spice to ‘Dune’. In the ’boutique’ of Ximena Pastor and Eric Ortuño, one of the most creative minds I have met in the world of sweets, they manipulate this material as if it were a precious stone and turn it into little less than a work of art. The jewel of this crazy museum is without a doubt the cone-shaped croissanta genius with infinite fillings that has already become one of the flagships of the house and summarizes in its triangular silhouette the philosophy of excellence and creative freedom of l’Atelier. You can buy them separately or enjoy them in their majestic brunch weekends. By the way, in summer they have ice cream with croissant cone! Counting down the days for the ‘caloret’ to return. Viladomat, 140. latelierbarcelona.com

Lil’ Croissant

little vice

Honey, I shrunk the croissants. If in Hofmann they have the largest, in Mistral have the smallest. But not for that the least addictive. On the contrary, the famous mini croissants of this busy bakery are crazy. They are the size of a popcorn, but their umami is immeasurable. I can’t think of crueler torture than eating just one. And it is that both the classic minis and the chocolate minis should be persecuted by the DEA: Ozzy Osbourne would surely pulverize and snort them. Ronda de Sant Antoni, 96. Torres i Amat, 7. Astúries, 35. fornmistral.com

emerald passion

Green light

Along with Hoffman, Takashi Ochiai is one of the pioneer patisseries in the art of crazy croissant The fans of the croissants of this veteran Catalan-Japanese church do not even want to hear about another place. And it’s understandable, when you get used to their succulent artisan gadgets you’re trapped and can’t get out. His matcha tea croissant, a piece copied over and over again, should be proclaimed cultural heritage of Barcelona. The world stops and the pupils dilate when you cross its puff pastry sheets, taste the butter, go into the alveolar depths of the piece and come across the glorious green matcha mus… I wish you had a little ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign. Comte Urgell, 110. ochiaipastisseria.com

Upper class

sublime pastries