You all might know that we don't celebrate Santa Klaus day, this tradition known as the day where kids recieve their Christmas presents. To be honest with you many families have imported this tradition but, if we follow the spanish Christmas ones, we celebrate The Three Wise Men day.
Besides finding out what presents they left at home, we eat a special pastry to celebrate Epiphany. In Spain, roscones bought in pastry shops have a small figure hidden inside, either of a baby Jesus or little toys for children, as well as the more traditional dry fava bean. Whoever finds the figure is crowned "king" or "queen" of the celebration, whereas whoever finds the bean has to pay for the next year's roscón or Epiphany party.
It is my second year baking the roscón for my family and it always tastes incredibly good!
Ingredients
- 100 ml of milk
- 50 ml of squeezed orange juice
- 2 eggs
- 40 ml of honey
- 100 gr of sugar
- zest of 1/2 an orange
- 75 gr of butter
- 450 gr of flour
- Butter
- 5,5 gr Lyophilized yeast
- 1 orange
- Chopped almonds
Choose a big container (you know I prefer crystal rather than plastic) and empty the milk and the orange juice. It is important that all ingredients are room temperature.
Meanwhile, slice the orange, place it in a plate and cover the slices with plenty of sugar until you hardly can see them!
After the 2,5 hours, spread some flour on your cutting board and empty the dough. Work it for 5 minutes until you can manipulate and make a ball with it.
Now, cover the oven tray with paper and, with your hands greased with olive oil, take the dough ball and make a hole in the middle. Work it a little bit untill you get a ring like the picture shows. Bear in mind that you have to make the hole quite big because when it grows it gets reduced.
Now it is time to wrap the "good" and the "bad" surprise! As for the good I chose a clover shaped pendant and as for the bad the traditional fava bean. Hide both little things under the ring.
When you have the ring, beat an egg and paint the surface of the ring. Decorate with the orange slices and the chopped almond. Now, let it grow for 4-5 hours.
Here you have two options if you want to have it for the 6th of January:
1./ Start the whole ring cake process at 12 pm of the 5th of Janurary so around 10 pm you can bake it and have the cake for the next day;
2./ Start the process around 9 pm of the 5th of January so you leave the decorated cake growing during the whole night. This is my favourite option because you bake it the same day you want to eat it and it is fresh! Mention that leaving it growing for more than 4-5 hours makes waking up the next day and seeing a deformed ring cake. However, it is only matter of being patient and re-shape it ;)
After that amount of hours, just bake it! Preheat the oven 180oC up and down. Then, bake the cake for 20-25 minutes until the surface is brown.
Enjoy it Spanish Kitchenetters!
Fonts
Wikipedia, Isasaweiss, Eva Arguiñano
