For Western cultures, particularly in Western Christian Churches, January 6th is often a celebratory day. It’s known as Epiphany, among other names, and has many different meanings. It can also denote the last day of Christmas as the 12th day. For many countries, families and friends take part in eating the well-known “King Cake” to remember this day. It was this day when the Magi visited baby Jesus bringing gifts to recognize him as the Savior of the Gentiles. It’s important to know this, so you understand the meaning behind the hidden treasure in the cake. What could that be?
The Spanish Version of Epiphany & The King Cake
With “King Cake” being a part of many Western Christian cultures, I want to share the Spanish version as this country has a long Christmas season. The Spanish call it the “Roscón de Reyes” (roh scone day ray yays) which is translated as “King Cake”. While it’s called a cake, it’s technically not. It’s an enriched, yeast bread shaped in a ring, like a wreath, and topped with candied fruit, nuts, and sugar. To round out the cake’s description, there’s always a hidden treasure.
What’s the Hidden Treasure?
Sometimes, there are two hidden treasures! There’s always a lucky, small, toy baby (plastic or ceramic) to represent Jesus and occasionally an unlucky dried bean. In some cases, people will use something other than a baby for the lucky treasure. Regardless, the lucky person to receive the slice with the baby or other toy is crowned King or Queen for the day. The unlucky individual who finds the dried bean in his or her slice is tasked with providing the following year’s King Cake. If you purchase a King Cake from a bakery, often there is a paper, gold crown supplied with the cake for the lucky person to wear for the day.
The Spanish Tradition of Epiphany
For countries that participate in the “King Cake” celebration, many of them follow a similar tradition. However, the meaning and some events of the day can vary. In fact, in Barcelona, Spain, it’s common for the Magi, the 3 wise men, to participate in a Cavalcade parade on Jan. 5th and deliver gifts to children. The Christmas period in Spain can be quite long. Nevertheless, January 6th is the last day of the Christmas season.
Thank you Spain for the Inspiration!
Here’s my shout-out to the Spanish history, culture, and many “Roscón de Reyes” recipes for inspiring my recipe I’m excited to share with you.
My Spanish Roscón de Reyes (King Cake) Recipe
Spanish Roscón de Reyes (King Cake) Ingredients
For this recipe, I created an enriched, sweet, brioche-type dough with traditional citrus flavors. The homemade candied fruit on top adds a sweet, elegant touch. For the ingredients, you’ll need: yeast, milk, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, salt, butter, eggs, orange zest and juice, lemon zest, rum (brandy or additional orange juice), and candied fruit (store-bought or homemade). I’m using my homemade candied citrus slices with the recipe below at the end of the post. You’ll also need a bean, a very small toy, or a baby (to represent baby Jesus) to place in the bread after it’s baked.
Spanish Roscón de Reyes (King Cake) Process
Activate the Yeast
As homemade yeast breads go, start by activating the yeast. In a small bowl, whisk together 1½ tablespoons of yeast, 1 tablespoon of sugar (removed from the total ¾ cup), and ¾ cup of warm milk heated to 100˚F-110˚F (~30 seconds in the microwave). Set the mixture aside for 10 minutes to become bubbly and frothy.
TIP: If yeast does NOT activate, the yeast is likely too old and needs to be thrown out. If so, restart the activation process with new yeast.
Prepare Dry Ingredients
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl if mixing my hand, sift in 480 grams (4 cups) of flour. Whisk in ¾ teaspoon of salt (if using salted butter) or 1 teaspoon of salt (if using unsalted butter). Add remaining sugar and 1 tablespoon each of orange and lemon zests (just use all zest from 1 large orange and 1 large lemon).
Add Eggs to Activated Yeast & Stir into Dry Ingredients
Once the yeast mixture has activated, whisk in 2 large beaten eggs. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir using a spatula scraping the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all the dry ingredients.
add 2 beaten eggs to yeast mixture stir yeast mixture into dry ingredients
Add Softened Butter & Liquid Flavorings
Add the dough hook attachment to the stand mixer and with the machine on low, add 4 oz (1/2 cup or 1 stick) of softened, room temperature butter (diced and heated in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, if needed), 2 tablespoons of orange juice and 1 tablespoon of rum. You can substitute the rum with another tablespoon of orange juice.
add softened butter and knead a little add the remaining liquid ingredients
Quick Kneading Time
Mix on low (speeds 1-2) or stir in a bowl adding flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is still sticky, light, and soft. It should not be dense or dry. Mix the dough until it pulls away from the bowl edges. You want a very light and airy dough. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl edges as needed. Knead or stir for about 5 minutes until the ingredients come together.
too wet; add 1-4 tbsp of flour & knead 5-7 min. dough pulling away from bowl; kneading done
Rise Time!
After the ingredients are well combined, scrape down the bowl edges and spoon the dough into a ball in the center of the bowl. Spray the top and sides of the dough with cooking spray since the dough is a little sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic and/or a towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm area for 1-3 hours or until doubled in size. You may need 3 hours since the dough is fairly wet. It will take a little longer than normal to rise.
ready to rise rise done; ~3 hours later
Knead By Hand, Roll, & Shape the Dough
After rising, use a spatula to deflate the dough and scoop it out onto a well-floured surface. Add more flour if the dough is pretty sticky.
Knead the dough by hand for 2-3 minutes. Transfer the dough to a sheet of floured parchment paper cut to at least 24 inches long. Use a floured rolling pin and roll the dough out into a 24x 6-inch rectangle.
Start at one long edge and roll the dough up like a cinnamon roll. Bring the ends together to create a wreath or doughnut shape with a hole in the center. Pinch to seal the ends together. You can cover up the seal with fruit before baking it.
Carefully lift the parchment paper ends with the wreath and place it on a round or long baking sheet that’s wider than the wreath.
knead 2-3 min. flatten out into rough rectangle roll out w/rolling pin 24×6-inch rectangle roll up tightly like cinnamon roll bring ends together pinch to seal ends cover and allow to rise
2nd Rise Time!
Cover the dough and place it in a warm area to rise for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size. With 20 minutes or so left in the rise, preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Add Egg Wash & Decorate
Before placing the dough in the oven, add an egg wash by beating the remaining egg with a tablespoon of water. Brush the egg wash over the top, sides, and center edges of the dough. Place the candied fruit (almonds and sugar, if using) over the top and gently press the toppings into the dough, so they don’t fall off during baking.
brush w/egg wash top with candied fruit ready for oven
Bake Time!
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. The internal temperature should reach 190˚F. After removing the bread from the oven, transfer it on the parchment paper to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, you can add the optional toy baby (and bean, if using) by pushing it up through the bottom of the bread to hide it. Then, sift on powdered sugar for additional flavor and color.
fresh out of the oven cooled and dusted w/powdered sugar
Final Product!
Up Close & Personal with a Slice of Spanish Roscón de Reyes (King Cake)
Notice how well the fruit stayed on top of the slice even after cutting it. The baking caused the fruit to brown some. The bread is light with small air pockets. Can you spot the fruit zests? With little kneading and being tightly rolled, this bread appears to be a bit layered.
Suggestions for Serving the Bread
In Spain, it’s common to slice the bread in half (like a bagel) and sandwich with fresh whipped cream. It’s great served with hot chocolate or a thick chocolate dipping sauce.
How to Serve the Bread with the Baby & Bean
Cut the bread into slices and serve to your family or guests. The lucky person who has the slice with the baby/toy is King or Queen for the day. You can provide a paper crown for them to wear, if you choose. If you added a bean to the bread, the unlucky person who has the slice with the bean is tasked with providing the bread or cake for next year’s King Cake celebration.
Storing the Bread
The bread can be stored at room temperature on the counter for several days. For longer storage, slice and store in a freezer bag until ready to consume. Allow slices to thaw at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. Serve and enjoy.
Spanish Roscón de Reyes (King Cake) Final Thoughts
While this bread is made with an enriched dough, the addition of rum, orange juice, and zests certainly elevate the flavor. The lack of heavy kneading along with rolling the dough adds layer and an element of crumble and flake. The wreath shape brings elegance and novelty. The candied fruit contributes to color and sweetness. Overall, this bread is quite unique even though the base is pretty traditional of a sweet bread.
Baker’s Perspective
I love making and baking with enriched dough. I seem to create quite a few of them. While the base is pretty routine, the extra flavorings, different techniques in kneading and shaping make them each unique. They truly are all different. The long rectangle shape rolled up like a cinnamon roll in this recipe was fun, easy, and surprisingly added interesting layer and flake to the final crumb of the bread. The wetter than normal dough took a bit longer to rise than a traditional bread dough, but it contributed to the gluten development and overall lightness to the baked bread. I enjoyed baking a different type of enriched dough, particularly one with a visually appealing final product.
Taster’s Perspective
As usual, Scott was the taste tester of this bread. I confused him when I called it a cake, since it’s really a bread. Once he understood it was a bread, the texture and flavors made sense to him. He found the texture crumblier than a normal bread. I assume that’s a result of the rolled dough and lack of heavy kneading. However, he did like it. He enjoyed the candied fruit and powdered sugar on top as that sweetness made it more of a sweet breakfast, snack, or dessert bread. He could detect the citrus flavors and sweetness in the bread; however, he could not taste the rum. Thus, I believe if you replaced the rum with something else, you would not compromise the intended flavor. Overall, this is a good bread to make to begin the new year.
Spanish Roscón de Reyes & Candied Citrus Fruit Recipes
Check out my YouTube video for detailed visuals of making this bread. “Spanish Roscón de Reyes King Cake: A Fruit Topped, Sweet Bread with a Hidden Surprise!“
Spanish Roscón de Reyes King Cake to Celebrate Epiphany
Ingredients
Bread Dough:
- 1½ tbsp (2 pkg /16 g) active dry yeast
- 6 oz (¾ cup) whole milk heated to 100˚F-110˚F (38˚C-43˚C)
- 140 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar 1 tbsp removed to activate the yeast
- 480 g (4 cups) all-purpose flour + 1-4 additional tbsp for thickening dough
- ¾ tsp (4½ g) salt, if using salted butter 1 tsp salt, if using unsalted butter
- 4 oz (½ cup/1 stick) butter softened (room temperature)
- 2 large eggs beaten & at room temperature
- 1 tbsp orange zest from 1 large orange
- 1 tbsp lemon zest from 1 large lemon
- 1 tbsp (12 ml) rum or brandy or orange juice
- 2 tbsp (24 ml) orange juice from zested orange
Dough Toppings:
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp (12 ml) water
- Candied fruit- assorted colors: citrus cherries, dates, etc. (store-bought or homemade)
- Slivered or sliced almonds optional
- Pearl sugar optional
Optional Additions:
- Powdered sugar dust on after baking
- Bean &/or small toy or baby to push through underside of bread after it’s baked
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together yeast, 1 tbsp sugar removed from the ¾ total, and warm milk heated to 100˚F-110˚F (38˚C-43˚C). Set aside for 10 minutes to become bubbly and frothy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, sift in 480 g (4 cups) flour. Whisk in salt, remaining sugar, and zests.TIP: You can use a large bowl and mix the ingredients as described using spoon or spatula.
- Once the yeast mixture has activated, whisk in the beaten eggs.
- Add the dough hook attachment to the stand mixer and with the machine on low, pour in yeast mixture. Add the softened butter (diced and heated in microwave for 10-15 seconds, if needed), rum, and orange juice.
- Mix on low (speeds 1-2) for 5-7 minutes adding flour, 1 tbsp at a time, until the dough is still sticky, light, and soft but not dense or dry. You want a very light and airy dough. The dough should pull away from the bowl. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl edges as needed.TIP: If using a bowl and spoon, mix everything very well (there’s no kneading.)
- After the ingredients are well combined, scrape down the bowl edges and spoon the dough into a ball in the center of the bowl. Spray the top and sides of the dough with cooking spray. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a warm area for 1-3 hours or until doubled in size.
- After rising, use a spatula to deflate the dough and scoop it out onto a well-floured surface.
- Knead the dough by hand for 2-3 minutes adding flour as needed. Transfer the dough to a sheet of floured parchment paper cut to at least 24 inches long. Use a floured rolling pin and roll the dough out into a 24x 6-inch rectangle.
- Start at one long edge and roll the dough up like a cinnamon roll. Bring the ends together to create a wreath or donut shape with a hole in the center. Pinch to seal the ends together. You can cover up the seal with fruit before baking it.
- Carefully lift the parchment paper ends with the wreath and place it on a round or long baking sheet that’s wider than the wreath.
- Cover the dough and place it in a warm area to rise for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
- With 20 minutes or so left in the rise, preheat the oven to 350˚F (177˚C).
- Just before placing the dough in the oven, beat the remaining egg and water and brush it over the top and sides of the dough. Place the candied fruit (almonds and pearl sugar, if using) over the top and gently press the toppings into the dough so they don’t fall off during baking.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. The internal temperature should reach 190˚F (88°C). After removing the bread from the oven, transfer the bread on the parchment paper to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, you can add the optional bean & /or toy by pushing it up through the bottom of the bread to hide it. Dust of powdered sugar, if using. Cut and serve.
Video
Notes
How to Make Candied Citrus Slices
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar plus additional sugar for dredging after cooking the fruit
- 2 cups water
- 2 oranges, sliced 1 large navel & 2 small mandarin (organic preferred)
- 1 lemon, sliced (organic preferred)
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, stir sugar and water together. Bring the water to a boil.
- Add citrus slices and reduce the heat to a simmer (low). Cook until slices are translucent and soft This could take an hour. Turn the slices every 15 minutes.
- After an hour, remove the slices using a slotted spoon or tongs. Place the slices in a single layer on a wire rack over a cookie sheet to cool.OPTIONAL: Before placing the slices on the wire rack, dredge each in a bowl of sugar. Shake off extra sugar, then place on the wire rack.
- Allow the slices to dry overnight on the counter at room temperature. You can save the fruit syrup to sweeten beverages.
- Use the fruit slices to decorate sweet breads, cakes, or beverages. Or eat them as an snack and enjoy.
Notes
You might be interested in these other sweet treats.
Greek Vasilopita New Year’s Cake
French Pain d’Epices (Spice Bread)
Nutella Swirl Pumpkin Pie w/Gingersnap Cookie Crust
Latin American Tres Leches Cake
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