Bake a Roscón De Reyes cake with Nacho!

This cake is a celebration of the Epiphany and eaten in households all over Spain. Roscón refers to the ring shaped brioche-like cake, and Reyes refers to the Three Kings or Three Wise Men. It is traditionally eaten the night before or morning of Reyes or King’s Day (6th January).

If you fancy making one yourself, here’s Exec Chef Nacho del Campo’s recipe, which he will of course be making for his family, Señora del Campo and the Nachitos .

NACHO’S ROSCÓN DE REYES RECIPE

Total prep time 2.5-3 hours

Cook time 20-25 minutes

Ingredients

• 650 grams strong flour
• 250 ml warm milk
• 20 grams yeast (7grams if dry yeast)
• 120 grams sugar
• 120 grams soft butter
• 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
• 10 grams salt
• 3 ml orange blossom essence
• 1 lemon zest
• 1 orange zest and juice

Decoration

You will need candied fruit (to represent the jewels of the 3 kings). Using orange slices is a fast alternative and cherries are easy to find, also almond flakes.

Instructions

• Activate the yeast.
• Use 100ml of the warm milk with the yeast and mix well, add 75 grams of flour and mix. Let this ferment covered in a large bowl for 25-30 minutes in a warm place.
• Once the dough is fermented add the rest of the warm milk. Add all the other ingredients except the butter and mix with the dough until it becomes smooth, then slowly add the butter until the dough becomes smooth again and the butter has been absorbed well.
• Make a ball and let it rise in a warm place covered with a damp cloth (you can turn the oven on to 50 degrees C then turn it off and leave the dough there until it doubles in size).
• Once it has risen you can work the dough, first dusting a bit of flour on the work surface, and shape the roscón into an O (the ring in the middle will shrink so make it big.)
• Leave to rest for 1 hour. Then you can brush the top with egg wash and decorate with the preserved fruit, almond flakes etc.
• Cook the dough at 180C for 20-25 minutes (don’t forget to pre-heat the oven).

Once ready let it cool down and cut in the middle and fill with whipped cream.

Best enjoyed with a dessert wine such as a Moscatel or Oloroso Dulce.