Roscón de Reyes (Three Kings cake)
Roscón de Reyes
Contains allergens
- Author
- Equipo Cocinoa
- Preparation time
- 6 hr
- Servings
- 8
Summary
A challenging recipe for 8 servings. It takes about 6 hours to make. It is vegetarian.
A ring of soft, enriched dough scented with orange blossom water and orange and lemon zest, topped with candied fruit, flaked almonds and sugar, and filled with cream if you like. A tiny figurine and a bean are hidden inside, and it is breakfast on 6 January.
Ingredients
- 90 g Butter (softened)
- 3 u Egg (two for the dough and one for glazing)
- 5 g Salt
- 140 g Sugar (100 g for the dough and 40 g for the topping)
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
- 30 g flaked almonds
- 40 g Icing Sugar (for the cream)
- 2 tablespoons Orange Blossom Water
- 25 g Yeast (fresh, or 8 g dried)
- 130 ml Whole Milk (lukewarm)
- 500 g Bread Flour (strong bread flour)
- 8 u Glace Cherry
- 1 tablespoon Orange Zest (from one orange)
- 100 g Mixed Peel (candied orange, in strips)
- 400 ml Whipping Cream (well chilled, if you want it filled)
Instructions
Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk. In a large bowl, mix the flour with 100 g of the sugar, the salt and the zests; add two of the eggs, the orange blossom water and the yeasted milk, and stir until there is no dry flour left.
10 min
Knead on the worktop or in a stand mixer for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and comes away from your hands. Add the butter a little at a time and keep kneading until it is fully absorbed and the dough is silky, elastic and glossy; a small piece stretched between your fingers should form a thin membrane without tearing.
20 min
Shape it into a ball, put it in a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave at room temperature until it starts to puff up.
60 min
Put it in the fridge, well covered, and leave it overnight, for 12 to 16 hours. The cold slows the yeast, builds flavour and firms up the butter, so the dough is far easier to shape afterwards.
Take the dough out of the fridge and let it lose its chill for about 30 minutes. Shape it into a ball, poke a hole in the middle with floured fingers and widen it, turning the dough as you go, into a ring about 30 cm across with a large hole in the middle. Transfer it to a tray lined with baking paper.
45 min
Cover with a cloth and leave to prove somewhere warm and draught-free until almost doubled in size and a fingertip pressed into it leaves a dent that springs back slowly.
2 hr
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (170 °C fan). Beat the remaining egg and brush it carefully over the ring. Decorate with strips of candied orange, the glacé cherries and the flaked almonds. Moisten the 40 g of sugar with a few drops of water and scatter it over in little heaps.
10 min
Bake on the middle shelf until deep golden and the base sounds hollow when tapped. If it browns too quickly, cover it loosely with foil for the last few minutes.
22 min
Leave to cool on a wire rack. Push the figurine and the bean, wrapped in baking paper, into the ring from underneath with your finger.
60 min
If you want it filled, whip the well-chilled cream with the icing sugar to firm peaks. Slice the ring in half horizontally with a bread knife, pipe the cream over the base and put the top back on.
15 min
Notes
Makes one large ring, enough for 8. It is eaten all over Spain on Three Kings' Day, 6 January, for breakfast or as an afternoon treat, and in many homes the night before as well, after the Kings' parade. A small figurine and a dried broad bean are hidden inside: by custom, whoever finds the figurine is crowned king of the table and whoever gets the bean pays for next year's roscón. For safety, wrap both in a scrap of baking paper, push them in from underneath once the ring is baked, and warn everyone, especially children. The dough is soft and sticky: resist adding extra flour and let the kneading and the cold do the work; the long rest in the fridge gives it more flavour and makes it much easier to shape. Use strong bread flour, which can carry the weight of the butter and eggs. If you use dried yeast, you need 8 g. Plan for the 6th: make the dough on the afternoon of the 4th, leave it in the fridge that night, shape and bake the ring on the 5th and fill it no more than a few hours before serving. Unfilled, it keeps for 2 days wrapped in a cloth or a bag; filled, keep it in the fridge and eat it the same day. You can also freeze it baked and unfilled for up to a month; thaw it wrapped and give it five minutes in the oven.
More information
Guide indicatorsDifficulty, quality and data reliability
Guide indicators
- Estimated difficulty100/100
- Recipe completeness65/100
- Nutrition reliability
- Medium
Calculated automatically from the ingredients, steps, time and community feedback. They are not a guarantee.
StorageKeeps 2 days in the fridge
Frequently asked questions
- How long does Roscón de Reyes (Three Kings cake) take to make?
- It takes about 6 hours in total.
- Which allergens does Roscón de Reyes (Three Kings cake) contain?
- It contains milk, eggs, tree nuts, cereals containing gluten and sulphites. Always check the labels of the products you use.
- How long does Roscón de Reyes (Three Kings cake) keep in the fridge?
- Up to 2 days in the fridge, in a closed container. It can also be frozen.
- Which diets is this recipe suitable for?
- It is vegetarian.
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