Christmas is a very special time of the year, the lights, the gifts, the family, friends, distant reunions and above all the gastronomy. Yes, that familiar and traditional Christmas gastronomy that never goes out of style.
In this post, of course, we will focus on the baking and a bit of history of this elegant holiday dessert.
The origin of the roscón seems to be related to the Roman saturnalesalthough nowadays some people relate it to a complementary and edible representation of the advent wreath, even though the tradition of the advent wreath is much later in Spain, which makes this relationship very doubtful.
These were festivals dedicated to the god Saturn so that the Roman people in general could celebrate the longer days that began to come after the winter solstice.
For these celebrations, round cakes were made with figs, dates and honey, which were distributed equally among commoners and slaves. As early as the 3rd century, a dried fava bean was placed inside the cake, and the lucky winner was named king of kings for a short period of time established beforehand. Bean games have existed in the Iberian Peninsula since the Romans.
The writer and anthropologist Julio Caro Baroja collects, in his work El Carnaval, two testimonies from the 12th century about the Roscón de Reyes or the "Rey de la Faba".
The first corresponds to the Kingdom of Navarre, where in 1361 the child who found the bean in the cake (as today) was named King of the Faba; the second testimony corresponds to Ben Quzman, Andalusian poet, who in his Cancionero describes a similar tradition with a cake, in the new year, containing a coin. Both traditions have been preserved for centuries.
As you can see, over time the recipe and its traditional surprises have not changed much, but nowadays we can see all kinds of Roscones de Reyes, with chocolate , cookies, sponge cake, etc.
ROSCÓN DE REYES RECIPE
We leave you with a traditional roscón recipe from our Master Chef Marina López:
Ingredients:
430g of strong flour
160ml milk
2 eggs
7g dry baker's yeast (or 21g fresh yeast)
60g butter
80g white sugar
5g salt
Two tablespoons of orange blossom water
Orange and lemon peel 1 cinnamon stick.
To decorate:
Wet white sugar
Rolled almonds
Fermentation times 2 hours: 1 hour at a time, wait for the dough to rise approximately twice its volume, but no more (Covered with a damp cloth and cling film).
In the second fermentation give the shape to the roscón.
We also leave you with this recipe of blueberry roscón de reyes that although we have not tried it, it looks incredible.
CHOCOLATE AND NUTELA KING'S CROWN RECIPE
Ingredients:
* For the roscón dough:
- 400g of strong flour
- 30g pure unsweetened cocoa powder
- 180ml milk
- 2 eggs
- 7g dry yeast (or 21g fresh yeast)
- 90g butter at room temperature
- 100g white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 vanilla pod
* To fill:
- 225g cream cheese
- 135g Nutella
- 135g powdered sugar
- 270ml cream 35% *.
To decorate:
- 100g dark chocolate
- 100ml cream 35% mg
- 150g candied orange discs
- 100g sliced almonds
We also leave you with this recipe of blueberry roscón de reyes that although we have not tried it, it looks incredible. And this video tutorial so that together with the recipe, you can go step by step...
ROSCON DE REYES KIT
You can also order your Roscón de Reyes Kit from our website, which in addition to having the best candied fruit, you will find the traditional figurine of the Wise Man, bean, crown and a card that explains the tradition of this unique dessert.
We also recommend you, the best chocolate for your Christmas roscones. From La tienda de chocolate, Nakoa, you will find a wide assortment of fruit with chocolate, chocolate bars of 1kg, 500g, 200g and 150g of chocolate at 90,70 and 60% cocoa, among others.
