Amar Barcelona is one of the best known restaurants in Barcelona but recently made global headlines thanks to a trio of last-minute, famous guests: Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen, and Steven Spielberg. The in-house restaurant of El Palace Barcelona, it is housed in a sumptuous blue and gold space that perfectly matches the heritage of the historic hotel. Opened in 2022, Amar is helmed by Rafa Zafra, the former El Bulli head chef. The restaurant embodies a love for Barcelona, the Mediterranean, and Catalan culture, as well as local seafood. Oysters, sea urchin and caviar are the stars of the menu, along with classic Catalan dishes. Zafra is guided by a simple principle: a passion for delivering outstanding food.
“There has been a paradigm shift in the last 15 years of hotel dining,” says Zafra. “It has shifted from hotels solely focusing on gaining Michelin stars for their restaurants to the new focus being the development of a unique restaurant concept. For Amar Barcelona, we agreed that the restaurant would go beyond fine dining. It would have a concept that matches the hotel and the city of Barcelona.”
Try your hand at creating some of Zafra’s desserts here:
Mango and Vanilla Roulade
Ingredients
For the sponge:
- Sugar / 3 cups
- Flour / 3 cups
- Ground almonds / 1 cup
- Eggs / 8 units
For the vanilla cream:
- Whipping cream / 4 cups
- Vanilla / 1 pod
- Sugar / 2 tablespoons
For the mango slices:
- Mango / 1 unit
Directions
To make the sponge:
Preheat the oven to 356ºF. Whip the eggs with the sugar using a whisk until they double in size. Once doubled, slowly incorporate the flour and ground almonds using a cake spatula. Spread on a baking tray and cook for 8-12 minutes.
For the vanilla cream:
Heat all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cool and put aside in the fridge for 24 hours. Using a whisk, whip the vanilla cream until it doubles in volume.
For the mango slices:
Peel the mango then remove slices of flesh, placing them on the sponge cake until completely covered.
Profiteroles Tower with Toffee Cream Sauce
Ingredients
For the profiteroles:
- Milk / 1 cup
- Butter / 3 tablespoons
- Salt / a pinch
- Sugar / 1 teaspoon
- Flour / 5 tablespoons
- Eggs / 2 units
For the cream:
- Whipping cream / 1 cup
- Sugar / 1 tablespoon
For the toffee:
- Cream / 1 cup
- Sugar / 1 cup
Directions
For the profiteroles:
Preheat the oven to 347ºF. Heat the milk, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Once brought to a boil, remove from the heat, add the flour and mix using a whisk. Leave
to cool. Add the eggs while mixing. Return to the heat. Stir to prevent the mixture sticking. Shape dough into balls and cook for 8 minutes.
For the cream:
Whip together cream and sugar using a whisk.
For the toffee:
Heat the cream and set aside. Heat the sugar in a saucepan, stirring occasionally so that it
caramelizes evenly. Once the caramel is the desired color, add the cream and stir until the 2 ingredients are combined.
Chocolate Nougat Souffle with Churros
Ingredients
For the soufflé:
- Melted dark chocolate / 1 small cup
- Melted butter / 1 small cup
- Egg yolks / 3 units
- Sugar / 1 tablespoon
- Egg white / 1 unit
For the churros:
- Water / 1 cup
- Olive oil / 3 tablespoons
- Salt / a pinch
- Sugar / 1 teaspoon
- Flour / 5 tablespoons
- Eggs / 2 units
Directions
For the soufflé:
Preheat the oven to 392ºF. Mix the melted chocolate and melted butter together. Whip the egg yolks and sugar and set aside in a bowl. Whip the egg whites and carefully add them to the egg yolk mixture. Add the chocolate and butter and mix. Bake the mixture in a flan mold for 7 minutes.
For the churros:
In a small saucepan, heat the water, oil, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and add the flour. Mix thoroughly with a whisk. Leave to cool and then add the eggs one at a time while mixing. Return to the heat and stir to ensure the mixture doesn’t stick. Pipe the churros using a piping bag with a star tip nozzle. Fry at 356ºF. Cover in sugar.
Learn more about Amar Barcelona and traveling to Spain, here.
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