Rosca de reyes

Bread and Baking Desserts and Pastries — By Ben on 07 January 2009
Rosca de reyes
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rosca_reyes

In Mexico and many other Christian countries Epiphany, celebrated on January 6th, marks the end of the Christmas season. Mexican kids go to bed early on January 5th expecting to find gifts next to the Nativity scene the following morning. Last year I wrote about  this holiday, Día de Reyes, and how it is celebrated in Mexico. Rosca de Reyes is the traditional sweet bread that Mexicans eat with hot chocolate that morning after opening presents. Last year I bought a rosca at my local Mexican market, but this year I decided to make it myself and share the recipe with my readers.

Rosca de reyes

For this recipe you will need:

  • 2 ¼ tsps dry yeast
  • ¼ cup warm water
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 TBSP rum
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 TBSP anise extract
  • 3½ – 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 1 tsp water
  • candied fruit for garnish

For the pasta:

  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ cup flour
  • 1/3 cup butter, softened

Preparation:

  1. Dissolve yeast in warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes or until it starts foaming.
  2. In a small pot warm milk and add sugar, butter, vanilla, anise and rum. Mix until it reaches about 105°F (40°C) (it will be warm to the touch)
  3. Mix milk mixture with yeast mixture and add 3½ cups of flour, one at a time, raisins and 3 eggs. Knead for 10 minutes. Add more flour if the dough is too wet.
  4. Place dough into a bowl and cover. Let it sit until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
  5. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF (175°C)
  6. Turn the dough onto a slightly floured surface and using your palms roll it into a long rope. Shape it into a ring sealing the ends together.
  7. Make an egg wash using 1 egg and 1 tsp of water and brush the bread with it.
  8. In a small bowl mix the ingredients for the pasta mixing them with a fork until they come together. Using an icing knife or bag spread strips of pasta on the bread alternating with candied fruit strips.
  9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until it turns golden brown. Let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes and serve with hot Mexican chocolate.
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rosca_reyes1

Roscas are usually baked with a porcelain or plastic baby Jesus inside. Traditionally the person that finds it is supposed to prepare tamales on February 2nd to celebrate Candlemas. I didn’t include any figurine in my rosca, but I am planning to have a big tamale night around that date, anyway.  The candied fruit that it is usually used for roscas are figs, cherries and acitron (candied cactus paddles), but I didn’t find any of those so I used the fruits from a candied fruit salad (kiwi, pineapple, strawberries and papaya)

¡Buen provecho!

I am sending this recipe to the following events, please click on the badges to learn more about them:

King Cake 2009

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About Author

Ben

grew up around food. His family owned a restaurant in Mexico City and he spent a big deal of his childhood helping and learning after school the art of creating delicious dishes from simple ingredients. He created this blog to share his kitchen adventures with the world.

(33) Readers Comments

  1. January 7, 2009 at 11:33 am

    Looks beautiful Ben!

    Reply
  2. January 7, 2009 at 11:45 am

    Ben, that’s a gorgeous bread! I love the tradition that you weave into your posts, it makes them interesting to read. Great photos!

    Reply
  3. January 7, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    Hmm… Candied cactus paddles. Now that’s something I’ve never tried before.

    Reply
  4. January 7, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    Thx for the little Mexican tradition, I love to learn about other countries culinary traditions…

    Reply
  5. January 7, 2009 at 12:40 pm

    This looks very tasty…sabroso con chocolate! I love the Mexican tradition of hiding prizes in cakes. Such fun. Que sigue la fiesta!

    Reply
  6. January 7, 2009 at 1:38 pm

    The bread sounds delicious. It reminds me of Greek tsoureki. Wow, candied cactus paddles, this is so interesting.

    Reply
  7. January 7, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    Lovely ring of bread, Ben!

    I’m also eyeing your guava empanadas. Yummy!

    Reply
  8. January 7, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    Also similar to the French galettes des rois. Very lovely for any table. This one looks like it’s worth the work.

    Reply
  9. January 7, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    Looks delicious, Ben! Now I’ve got 2 recipes bookmarked that use acitron, have to go find some!

    Reply
  10. January 7, 2009 at 5:06 pm

    Looks delicious! You’ve done a great job with this Ben! Like Ivy said it reminds me a lot of the Greek ‘tsoureki’ we make.

    Reply
  11. January 7, 2009 at 6:36 pm

    Ben, that looks delicious. Now I know what Rosca de reyes means -you didn’t give us the url on Twitter, shame on you ;)

    Reply
  12. January 7, 2009 at 7:23 pm

    I think that bread would be a present in itself. The baby in the bread idea makes me think of King Cake in New Orleans. It also has a baby in it & the one who gets the baby in their slice has to throw the next party.

    Reply
  13. January 7, 2009 at 7:41 pm

    I’m so glad you posted this, Ben :)
    It’s a wonderful recipe and I love reading about how different cultures celebrate the epiphany!

    Reply
  14. January 8, 2009 at 12:00 am

    Gorgeous Ben!

    Reply
  15. January 8, 2009 at 2:27 am

    This looks gorgeous & I just love learning about different traditions – we have just celebrated with gallette de roi, here in France.

    Reply
  16. January 8, 2009 at 3:45 am

    It looks delicious. I’m sure this one tastes much better than the bought one, isn’t it?

    Reply
  17. January 8, 2009 at 6:07 pm

    I love the way it glistens like jewels!

    Reply
  18. January 8, 2009 at 8:41 pm

    Hola Ben. Feliz Ano Nuevo. I love the rosca. I make a King cake too but mine has the traditional Mardi Gras colors to it. Yours look absolutely delicious. Did you send me a piece???? May all you wishes come true in 2009 corazon. Abrazos y besos.

    Reply
  19. January 8, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    I have never had a rosca de reyes but it looks and sounds good!

    Reply
  20. January 8, 2009 at 11:07 pm

    looks great and yum … :)

    Reply
  21. January 9, 2009 at 1:33 am

    Looks so beautiful, Ben.
    I discovered this bread recently and made one too. Its good to see an authentic recipe though.

    Reply
  22. January 9, 2009 at 7:07 am

    Looks amazing and delish! Way to go.

    Reply
  23. January 9, 2009 at 5:09 pm

    That looks so good!
    Can you please come to DC and open your own Mexican restaurant? :)

    Reply
  24. January 10, 2009 at 4:25 pm

    Now that you have nade your own you will probably never go back to the bakery Ben!!

    Reply
  25. January 11, 2009 at 5:06 pm

    I’m glad you blogged about this. Love the picture.

    Reply
  26. January 12, 2009 at 1:50 pm

    This is beautiful Ben! I really like the pasta decoration and will do that when I make it again. Candied cactus paddles, hmm, I wonder if I could make these myself? (Nopales are readily available in markets around here.) Happy New Year!

    Reply
  27. January 15, 2009 at 1:21 pm

    Thanks so much for the Rosca de Reyes recipe! Every winter I tell somebody about this kind of cake, and they kind of look at me like they don’t believe it (baby Jesus and all). I love your blog!

    Reply

  28. robertila vilchez

    January 20, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    love your picturs and made sametings

    Reply

  29. J

    January 20, 2009 at 7:26 pm

    I went to my very first party this year! It was soo fun and the rosca was delicious. I found a jesus in my slice, but basically everyone did. They put a bunch of Jesus’s in instead of just one. :]

    Reply

  30. María

    February 3, 2009 at 8:49 pm

    This is great!!! My stepdaughters have moved from California to Utah and are no longer are readily exposed to Roscas in the Panaderías. I can make this for them!! FYI, the singular form of “tamales” is “TAMAL” not “tamale”. A very common error among many English speakers.

    ¡Muchísimas gracias!

    Reply

  31. Pingback: Peruvian Rosca de Reyes | Canela and Comino

  32. Brenda Zamora

    January 7, 2011 at 5:26 pm

    I followed your recipe last year & just loved it ! I baked my rosca this year again. Thank you . Brenda Z.

    Reply

  33. jerko

    February 26, 2011 at 12:57 am

    i tried this recipe & it didn't come out sweet enough for me… it needed more sugar :(

    Reply

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