It is said that the greatest patron of this sweet was the French King Louis XV. The story goes that the court cook of Slavic origin wanted to treat the monarch to a traditional roscón (yeast wreath) from his homeland on Epiphany, but it contained a surprise: a diamond medallion that he had purchased thanks to the cooperation of other members of the service.
While the tradition was lost in Eastern Europe, Louis XV was enthusiastic about the invention and worked to spread it among the French and European aristocracy with a coin inside as a surprise. In this way, during the 18th century, it reached Spain, where it was excellently received. Soon the custom passed from the nobles to the common people, Madrid and Seville being important bastions for this masterpiece of pastry. Gradually, the whole country and its colonies (especially Mexico) were seduced by its unique taste.
Ingredients for 8 - 10 people
- 1 tablespoon of orange flower water
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/3 teaspoon of fine salt
- 100 g white sugar
- 125 ml milk
- 25 g fresh yeast or baker's yeast
- 350 grams of wheat flour
- 90 grams of extra virgin olive oil, Arbequina variety
- Grated peel of 1 orange
To decorate the roscón:
- 1 small spoonful of orange flower water
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 egg
- 20 g of sliced almonds
- Mixed candied fruit
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, reserving about 30 g for the dough.
- Then heat the milk and pour it into a container with a lid and dissolve the baker's yeast in it along with three to four tablespoons of strong flour. Mix well so that there are no lumps. Now cover the container with the mixture airtight and let it ferment for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Grate the orange and add the peel to the bowl with the flour. Add the sugar along with the salt, one egg and one egg yolk, the orange flower water, the extra virgin olive oil from Hojiblanca that gives a special touch to our roscón, and finally the mixture of milk, yeast and flour that we prepared at the beginning and that has already fermented and increased in volume. Mix well until a compact dough is formed.
- Next, we pour the dough on the floured work surface with the reserved flour. We also flour our hands and knead for a few minutes until all the ingredients are perfectly combined. It is not necessary to add too much flour so that the dough does not stick, as it usually has quite a sticky consistency.
- Then put the dough in a large bowl greased with a little oil so that it doesn't stick to the edges, and cover it with cling film so that it is perfectly covered. Let it rest in a warm place until it doubles in volume, about an hour. The time will depend on the ambient heat; the colder it is, the longer it will take to double in volume.
- When the dough has doubled in volume, remove it from the bowl and knead it for just a few seconds to remove the air from the dough. Form the dough into a ball again and let it rest on the work surface for about 15 to 20 minutes, covering it with the same bowl so that the dough does not dry out.
- After this time, grease your hands with a little oil and press a hole in the center of the dough ball. Enlarge it gradually, keeping in mind that it will get smaller as you shape the dough during baking.
- When we have formed the cake, this is the moment to hide the figure and the bean.
- Place the roulade in the baking dish lined with baking paper.
- Brush the roulade with beaten egg, so that it does not dry out, and let it rest covered for about an hour, until it doubles in size.
- After this time, brush the yeast wreath again with the beaten egg left over from the first painting and turn on the oven with top and bottom heat at 160º to warm them up.
- Meanwhile, carefully spread the candied fruit and the sliced almonds on the roulade.
- Put a tablespoon of sugar and orange flower water in a bowl, mix well and spread over the entire surface of the Roscón de Reyes.
- Finally, bake the cake in the oven for 25 minutes until it has a nice golden color, then remove it from the oven and let it cool before eating.