Roscón de Reyes

Ya vienen los reyes, los reyes de oriente

Ya le traen al niño muy ricos presentes

Campanitas verdes, hojas de limón

La Virgen María, madre del Señor

This week takes place one of my favourite festivals, the Three Kings Day. One of the best ways to celebrate it is by eating the Spanish kings cake or as Spanish people say: el Roscón de Reyes. I usually follow the recipe from Eva Arguiñano, a famous Spanish chef, but I like to personalise it by adding different decorations on the bread.

• Ingredients:

350 gr or 3 cups of flour

2 eggs

70 gr or 1/4 cup of butter

100 ml of water

20 gr or 1/8 cup of yeast

125 gr 1 cup of sugar

3 tbsp of milk

8 ml of orange blossom water

A bit of salt

Orange peel

For the decoration of the bread: candied fruits, almonds, candies or chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix them until a soft, smooth dough forms.

2. Cover the bowl and set it in a draft-free place to rise until doubled (1h and 30 minutes minimum). It's important that the dough is well-covered.

3. After the rise, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and make an oval shape in the middle. You can start with smooth-edged round and roll until circle of desired size is achieved. You can use your fist to make the oval shape. Cover the dough again and set aside for 40 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and decorate the surface of the dough with candied fruits or with chocolate chips or almonds. Hide a raisin and a little figurine inside. The figurine symbolises luck and prosperity to whoever finds it.

5. Apply the egg wash on the bread to create a golden colour and then put it in the oven and bake it for 15/20 minutes.

Some people like to make the roscón with some cream filling but I prefer the one without it. I also prefer to decorate the dough with almonds and chocolate chips as I'm not particularly crazy about the candied fruit. And my favourite part is to eat the roscón with a cup of hot chocolate accompanied by my family or friends.

¡Feliz Día de Reyes! Happy Kings Day!