Cris Massana: “France is one of the best places to develop vegan pastry”

Cris Massana, who graces the cover of our Spanish-language pastry magazine DPAS 523, honed her pastry vision in Paris alongside top chefs. She has an ethically grounded vegan approach, but also a love for well-made classic pastry. Moreover, her desserts are every bit as delicious as traditional ones and can be enjoyed in “non-vegan” establishments, with explicit vegan labels.

Below, we share an excerpt from the interview published in the Spanish DPAS 523 edition.

Photos: @____pepa

Let’s talk about vegan pastry. How would you define the pastry you practice?

I would define it as pastry heavily influenced by French tradition and aesthetics, but also by curiosity. I like to understand how ingredients work, try new things, and question certain techniques we take for granted in order to find different ways of doing things, because there are almost always alternatives.

For years I’ve been aware that vegan pastry occupies a very specific niche, although it’s growing. But my intention has never been to cater solely to that audience. I’ve always wanted someone to choose one of my desserts because they find it delicious, beautiful, and gourmet, not simply because it’s vegan. And, of course, the plant-based aspect remains important to me, but I think it’s a very positive way to demonstrate that things can be done differently and that certain ideas can go much further when conveyed through pleasure rather than through rhetoric.

What does it mean for you to make this type of pastry in a country with such a deep-rooted connection to the flavors of butter and dairy?

It’s true that France has a very special relationship with ingredients like butter, cream, and eggs. They’re part of its culinary heritage, and it’s natural that there’s a certain attachment to them. But at the same time, it’s also a country with a rich technical culture, an incredible tradition, and a great curiosity for pastry.

That’s why, paradoxically, I think France is one of the best places to develop this kind of work. At first, I often made the mistake of presenting my desserts by directly stating that they were vegan. I even encountered quite a few well-known chefs who responded with things like, “Why? Are you sick?” Over time, I understood that it was better to let the product speak for itself. When someone has already tried your flan parisien (a dessert deeply rooted in Parisian culture) and told you they liked it, the conversation changes completely when they discover it doesn’t contain milk or eggs. The question is no longer whether it’s vegan or not, but how you achieved that result. And I think that’s where it becomes interesting, because the conversation shifts from ideology to technique, to flavor, and to the product itself.

Don’t you feel that in many ways you’re paving the way and setting new standards?

I don’t know if I feel comfortable saying that I’m paving the way. I think there are many people doing incredible work, and no one builds anything completely alone.

What I have noticed over the years is that some things that seemed very difficult to imagine ten years ago are now starting to seem more natural. If I’ve been able to contribute even a little to that change, I’m happy.

Perhaps where I feel I’ve made a more personal contribution is in the aesthetics and the way I present this type of pastry. I’ve always wanted my desserts to be able to compete head-to-head with any French pastry offering, without being judged differently because of the ingredients they DON’T contain.

Can you enjoy a cream and not miss egg as an ingredient? 

I think so. We’re so used to many creams having a secondary egg or dairy flavor that we sometimes consider it normal. Since arriving in Paris, I’ve been trying a lot of traditional pastries, and I often find that a mango crèmeux tastes as much like egg and dairy as it does like mango; I always say it sometimes tastes like an omelette. Personally, I think a mango crèmeux should taste primarily like mango.

The key is understanding what the egg contributes to each recipe and finding other ways to achieve that texture and creaminess. Obviously, a fruit crèmeux is not the same as a vanilla cream, where dairy fat plays a much more important role. In those cases, the challenge lies in rebalancing the recipe with other fat sources, such as coconut oil, to achieve a similar mouthfeel without overpowering the main flavor.

Discover these creations and the full interview in our Spanish-language pastry magazine DPAS 523, where Cris Massana shares her opinion on the future of vegan pastry and reveals how to achieve a creaminess that rivals cream.