"Roscón de Reyes" is a traditional bread cake, served usually the morning of “Reyes” or Epiphany, January 6th. It is the last Christmas event.
"Dia de Reyes" is the day when children in Spain receive gifts in our Christmas time. The Three Wise Men, los Tres Reyes Magos, are the 3 kings who brought baby Jesus gifts. The brought gold, incense and myrrh to him, and now they bring presents to all of us.
Even when nowadays most children get some Santa Klaus gift on December 25th, we mostly keep the tradition of the 3 Wise Men.
These very days, in each city or village of Spain you can join a parade of the Tres Reyes Magos, and many places offer a Reception of one of the 3 Kings – or their page-boys – so that the children can
directly ask for their presents… but there is one condition:
If
we were good during the year, we receive the presents. If we were bad…
they leave just “coal” for us, which is a coal shaped black candy, pure
sugar!
And on the very morning of the 6th,
with the presents waiting on us, we eat the Roscón for breakfast all
together. And not only this: the roscón has many surprises hidden
inside: among others, usually a
porcelain figure of a baby wrapped in foil and a dry bean are hidden in
the dough. Whoever finds the baby will have good luck and be the king
of the party, but if you find the bean - pay for the cake!
In
case you want to enjoy a homemade roscón, we have included 2 recipes
here: one easy and one difficult, for you to join the Wise Men day with
some Spanish taste. We hope you enjoy them!
EASY RECIPE
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Basic ingredients:
- 400g flour
- 3 eggs
- 100g butter
- 100g sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 liter milk
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Dried mixed peel for decorating
- Salt
Preparation:
- Mix the baking powder in a glass with 4 tbsp of
the milk then add this to 100g of the flour and mix together until it
forms a dough type mixture - cover with a clean tea towel and set aside
until it doubles in size.
- Place the rest of the flour (300g) in a bowl and
add the eggs, sugar, pinch of salt, the rest of the milk and zest of the
lemon - mix well then add the butter and continue mixing for a further 2
mins then add the dough mixture - once a smooth dough has been achieved
cover and set aside for 2 hour.
- After 2 hours knead the mixture a little before
placing it on a greased baking tray in the form of a ring. Put some
little figures wrapped up in foil inside the mixture and also a broad
bean. Whoever finds the bean, according to tradition, can expect to
receive coal rather than presents from the Kings. Brush with milk,
decorate using the mixed peel, lightly sprinkle with sugar and place in a
pre-heated oven (160 degrees) for 15 - 20 min.
DIFFICULT RECIPE
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- 4 cups unbleached flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 oz yeast
- 2/3 cup mixed lukewarm milk and water (of equal parts)
- 6 Tbsp butter
- 6 Tbsp sugar
- Grated rind of 1 lemon
- Grated rind of 1 orange
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp brandy
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- Candied fruit pieces, cherries, oranges, etc.
Serves 8-10.
- Sift flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Make a hole in the center of the flour.
- In a small mixing bowl, stir and dissolve the dry
yeast in the lukewarm milk-water mixture. Once dissolved, pour the
dissolved yeast into the center of the flour. Stir in just enough flour
from around the bowl to make a thick batter.
- With your hand, grab about a teaspoon of the
flour from the side of bowl and sprinkle it over the top of batter.
Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place, away from any
draft. Allow batter to turn spongy, about 15 minutes.
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, use a hand mixer or
whisk to beat together the butter and sugar. The mixture should be
smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- Put grated orange and lemon rinds, eggs, brandy and water to the bowl with flour mixture. Mix all. The dough will be sticky.
- Beat flour mixture until it is elastic and
smooth. Beat in butter-sugar mixture and mix until the dough is smooth.
Dough should be formed into a ball, then covered with oiled plastic
wrap. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and leave it again in a warm place
and allow to rise until doubled in size. This will take approximately
1.5 hours.
- While you are waiting for the dough to rise,
grease a large baking sheet with vegetable shortening and set aside for
use later. If you will use a baking stone, no need to grease it.
- Once dough has doubled, remove plastic wrap and
punch dough down. Lightly flour a clean counter or cutting board and
place dough on it. Knead for 2-3 minutes. Then, using a rolling pin,
roll dough into a long rectangle, about 2 feet long and 5-6 inches wide.
- Roll the dough on the long side into a sausage
shape. Carefully place the dough onto the large baking sheet or stone
and connect the ends together, forming a ring. If you will hide a bean
or a small foil-wrapped,
ceramic figurine in the cake, now is the time to tuck it under the
dough. Cover with oiled plastic wrap again. Leave in a warm place and
allow to double in size. This will take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Heat oven to 350F degrees. Lightly beat the egg
white in a bowl. Uncover the dough and brush the top of the cake.
Decorate the ring with the candied fruit pieces. Push them into the
dough slightly so that they do not fall off.
- Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool on a rack before serving.
In the last half of the 20th century, filling the roscón with whipped cream or thick custard became popular. Today about a third of the roscones
sold in Spain are filled. If you want to fill yours, use a bread knife
to slice the bread in half horizontally and carefully remove the top.
Next, squeeze in the whipped cream or filling you've chosen and
carefully replace the top. Keep refrigerated until serving if filled
with cream or custard.
Recipies are taken from:
