As a half-Spanish family, we traditionally celebrate Diá de los Reyes on January 6th with a Roscón de Reyes - a filled cake made from yeast dough. Today I'm going to show you the recipe for our Epiphany cake.
We are a German-Spanish family! This not only means that my kids are growing up bilingual, but also, that in our home we happily mix the culture and traditions from Spain and Germany. So 10 days after we celebrated Christmas we celebrate a typical Spanish holiday Diá de los Reyes (Epiphany) including all Spanish traditions.
The most delicious of these traditions on Diá de los Reyes is clearly the Roscón de Reyes – a yeast wreath with a creamy filling. If you're looking for THE Roscón de Reyes recipe, it's the same as if you were looking for THE Christmas cookie recipe. There are countless and every family has a different “very special” recipe!
The Roscón de Reyes is usually decorated with granulated sugar, flaked almonds and/or candied fruits. Since we are not the biggest fans of candied fruits, our Epiphany cake is decorated quite simply with granulated sugar.
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The tradition behind Roscón de Reyes
Although not all Spaniards share a recipe for their Epiphany cake, they do share a special tradition. A whole almond is hidden in the Epiphany cake and whoever finds it in their piece of the Roscón de Reyes is responsible for making or purchasing the Roscón de Reyes the next year. In some regions, a small king - a small figure - is baked into the Epiphany cake. The person who has the little king on his plate will experience good luck that year.
Our recipe for the Roscón de Reyes
Since the Roscón de Reyes consists of a yeast dough, it requires a lot of time - time to rise. Therefore, this recipe is probably not a recipe that can be baked “quickly” with children. Nevertheless, all work steps can be easily divided and of course, as always, your children can accompany them well. In our case, I think it's particularly nice that my minis can "help shape" a tradition.
When producing a yeast dough, you can also show your children the chemical reaction of yeast, as it is clearly visible to the children and also exciting. Otherwise, this recipe also offers many steps that your mini can help you with.
Ingredients for a Roscón de Reyes
Yeast dough
- 400 g flour
- 25 g fresh yeast
- 150 ml milk
- 120 g soft butter
- 2 eggs
- 80 g sugar
- Zest 1 organic lemon
- Zest 1 organic orange
- 100 g ground almonds
- 2 tsp Aqua de Azahar* (Orange blossom aroma, there is also lemon blossom) - if necessary you can do without it 😉
Filling
- 1 packet of almond pudding* (Vanilla and chocolate also work of course 😉
- 500 ml milk
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 200 ml whipped cream
- 1 tbsp San Apart
Decoration
- egg yolk
- granulated sugar
- 1 whole almond and a small king figure (if you want the Spanish tradition 😉
Baking accessories
Mixing bowl, kitchen scales, kitchen towel, measuring cup, kitchen grater for abrasion, jam jar/round bowl, baking tray, baking paper, cooling rack, bread knife, hand mixer, bowl, cooking pot, whisk, tablespoon, dough scraper, kitchen brush
Preparation
We prefer to eat Roscón de Reyes with a creamy filling. But first of all, of course, the yeast wreath is baked.
Is your yeast dough not rising or sticking to your fingers?
Then I can reassure you: you are not alone! Many people have the same issues and it was the same for me for a long time!
After many experiments and a lot of testing, my yeast doughs now usually rise! With my tips & tricks for baking with yeast dough your baking with yeast will also be a pleasure and your yeast dough will rise!
Have fun baking!
We bake the yeast wreath for the Epiphany cake
- Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle with the spoon
- Crumble fresh yeast into the well and mix it with 5 tablespoons of lukewarm milk and one tablespoon of sugar in the well
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 10 minutes (until the yeast has visibly multiplied) (see picture)
- After the yeast has multiplied, add the remaining sugar, eggs, butter, lemon and orange zest, ground almonds and the remaining milk to the yeast and knead into a smooth dough.
- Cover the yeast dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise again in a warm place for at least an hour.
- While the yeast dough is rising, you can use the time and make the almond pudding according to the package instructions with milk and sugar so that it can cool down until you can fill the Epiphany cake.
- After an hour, knead the yeast dough again
- Form the yeast dough into a roll and then place the two ends together to form a circle.
- Place the yeast wreath on a baking tray lined with baking paper and cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rise again for about 30 minutes.
- So that the hole in the yeast ring does not close while baking, I place a round jam jar or a small dessert bowl in the opening. The only important thing is that the glass or bowl is heat-resistant.
- Then brush the yeast ring with a beaten egg yolk and sprinkle or cover with granulated sugar (or candied fruits).
- Place the yeast wreath in the cold oven.
- Set the oven to 200ºC top/bottom heat and bake the Roscón de Reyes for about 30-35 minutes until it is golden yellow. The yeast dough can rise again while the oven is warming up. (It is always better if glass heats up slowly in the oven and is not exposed to temperature changes from room temperature to 180ºC within seconds)
- After baking, carefully remove the jar and allow the yeast wreath to cool on the cooling rack.
Die cremige Füllung für unseren Roscón de Reyes
- First, lightly whip the cream, add a teaspoon of San Apart and whip the cream until stiff.
- Then whip up the now cooled almond pudding and briefly mix it with the cream (do not stir for too long, otherwise the mixture will be too thin).
- Den Dreikönigskuchen schneidest du vor dem Befüllen mit einem Brotmesser quer in zwei Teile.
- Now spread the almond cream on the lower part of the wreath. Right now you can hide the whole almond and the king figure in the filling.
- Finally, the yeast wreath lid is carefully placed on the filling and the Roscón de Reyes can be served.
I hope you enjoy our Roscón de Reyes as much as we do! My minis and I wish you and your family a “tasty” Epiphany!
Have fun baking!
Yours, Lia
Have you baked the recipe?
How exciting! We're really happy about that! We are pleased that we were able to delight you with our recipe. Feel free to share your treat with us on Instagram using the hashtag #backenmitminis.
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