The Real fondant Rousquille
Discover the history of this cake, typically Catalan.
The Rousquille is a delicious soft Catalan biscuit flavored with lemon and coated with a sugar icing. Its celebrity has for a long time spread beyond the borders of Roussillon, so much so that it is known in most parts of France.
The story of the Rousquille
The story begins in 1810. The pastry chef Marius Séguela creates the famous "Rousquille", from the Catalan word "Rosca" which means "crown", the hole in the middle of this cake, which tends to disappear, was used by a traveling salesman who threaded into a long and thin stick.
Its manufacture and recipe were passed down from father to son. But the house of Séguela Combes did not think of protecting its recipe and was copied by the competitors.
All the subtlety of the war for the paternity of the Rousquille between Amélie-Les-Bains Palalda and Arles-sur-Tech can be found here. On 7 April 1840, the Baths of Arles, so named because of its warm waters, were renamed Amélie-Les-Bains. With time, confusion on the birthplace of the Rousquille was made between the town of Amélie-Les-Bains and that of Arles-sur-Tech.
Currently, the historic site and the original recipe of the Rousquille are the property of the pastry Perez-Aubert, a pastry shop in Amélie-Les-Bains still in activity. So how can a specialty invented in a place still in activity, with a jealously guarded recipe, be claimed by the neighboring village? Perhaps because an employee of Marius went to work at the competitor of the neighboring village with a part of the recipe reworked afterward? Or because the Bains d'Arles was a part of the commune of Arles-sur-Tech?
One thing is certain: over the centuries this biscuit has gradually become a key part of Catalonia's culinary heritage.
Discover the real fondant Rousquille at Amélie-les-Bains Palalda
Pâtisserie PEREZ-AUBERT
12 rue des Thermes
66110 Amélie-les-Bains Palalda
Phone number: 04 68 39 00 16
perez.aubert@orange.fr
