Pasteles de Autor


My cakes are difficult to categorise, or at least that's what I thought. They have a German influence but they're not classic German,  they're not French pâtisserie, I don't do any mousses and glazes with gelatine, they are not American, I don't make Red Velvets or Oreo Cakes, and they're definitely not Catalan either. So where do I place myself in the cake scene in Barcelona? Yesterday I had a Eureka moment. After observing the lunar eclipse we went for a drink at La Confiteria, a bar that makes "cócteles de autor". There is no English equivalent for this term. And although I can imagine what it means I asked Víctor how he would translate it. He, being the knowledgeable person that he is, told me the whole story of where "de autor" or better said "d'auteur" comes from: it originates in France, and was first used in a magazine about cinema describing the films where the directors bring in their own ideas and interpretation and giving it a personal touch rather than them just following the guidelines to make something "Hollywood". And that's when I realised, I think that's what my cakes are. No Hollywood, it's my own personal style, I have no category, it's cakes by Ika, pasteles de autor. I slept very well, despite the hot weather.