When I lived in Mexico City decades ago, the day after Christmas found the bakeries flooded with roscas de reyes, Mexico’s king cakes, that were decorated with streusel topping, strips of colorful tropical fruit pastes and sometimes other candied fruit. Yes, like the famous New Orleans king cakes, the rich bread was dotted with little plastic babies, signaling to anyone who discovered one in their slice that they were responsible for making (or buying!) tamales for the group on February 2, Día de la Candelaria. Unlike the Big Easy counterpart, roscas de reyes fever mounted from Christmas until January 6, Three Kings Day, and then was over.
Nowadays, you can buy roscas de reyes throughout the Christmas season. And the classic I described has spawned all kinds of filled and decorated versions, but always in the same wreath-like shape. Size, however, can vary from the large original, sharable for a dozen or more, to individual versions they sell at Starbucks.
Here’s the classic recipe. Just know that there are many fillings you can roll into your rosca, from chopped dried/candied fruit, toasted nuts and chocolate chips to a hearty smear of nutella or almond paste pastry cream. While the streusel topping seems to be obligatory, feel free to be creative with everything else.
A note about yeast: If you’re at all concerned about the freshness and viability of your dry yeast, I suggest that you warm the milk a little (100 degrees), sprinkle the yeast on the top (some people suggest adding a little sugar) and let it stand until bubbly. No bubbles = no good.
A note about fruit pastes: In Mexican groceries, you’ll find a host of colorful fruit pastes–guava, quince, pear, apple and so forth–either packaged in blocks or cut from huge blocks by the butchers. They’re also easily available online, from Latino or Spanish vendors. They are called ates, and most people consider them an essential decoration for roscas.
The question: Should I bake the fruit paste or not? Some bakers think the fruit paste batons take on a less-than-perfect texture when they are baked (I like it). Feel free to decorate with them after the rosca comes out of the oven.
INGREDIENTS
- For the dough:
- 2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (280 grams) bread flour
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 tablespoon (11 grams) active dry yeast
- Zest from 1 orange
- 2/3 cup (150 grams) milk
- 3 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon orange flower water (optional)
- For decorating:
- 4 to 8 little
- 4 ounces (112 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (28 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 cup (140 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, preferably Mexican canela
- 1 egg
- An 8-ounce container guava and/or quince paste (or ones from any other fruits) (available at Mexican groceries or online, ate de guayaba or membrillo in Spanish)
- A little honey, agave syrup or rich simple syrup for final garnishes (if using)
- A small amount of candied orange rind or other candied fruit (if you like)
- A little powdered sugar (if you like)
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the dough, overnight rise. In the bowl of a stand mixer, measure both flours, the sugar, salt and dry yeast. Grate in the zest. Add the milk, eggs and yolks, and optional orange flower water. Use the dough hook to stir everything by hand until most of the flour is moistened, then secure the dough hook and turn the machine on low. When everything is nicely combined, raise the speed to between medium-low and medium and knead the dough for about 8 minutes, until it looks really smooth. (This is a heavy, sticky dough, so it won’t be pulling away from the bowl much). With the mixer still going, add the cubes of butter a couple at a time, making sure that one batch is mostly incorporated before adding the next. Once the butter is incorporated, mix for 3 to 4 more minutes until the dough is less sticky and more elastic. Let stand at room temperature for about an hour to jump-start the rising, then cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight for a long, slow, delicious-making rise.
Forming the rosca, second rise. The next day, it’s best to remove the dough from the refrigerator an hour or so before forming the rosca to begin warming it up. Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface, then use your fingers to press it into a rectangle about 5 inches wide and 12 inches long. Next, use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a very long rectangle (6 x 30 inches), lifting, stretching, flipping, rolling and very lightly flouring the dough as you go. With the dough stretching from left to right in front of you, roll it up rightly (as you would when making cinnamon rolls), gently pulling the roll a little toward you as you go to create a little surface tension. When the dough is about halfway rolled, position the little king cake babies along the length and finish rolling. Press the seam together from one end to the other to ensure no part will unroll.
Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon mat and form it into an oblong wreath. Where the two ends come together, form an inch-deep indentation in one side, insert the other side in and pinch the two together. Cover lightly with plastic and set in a warm place (about 80 degrees) to rise until fully double in bulk, about an hour (depending on how cold the dough is when you start).
Prepare the streusel and other decorations. While the dough is rising, in a food processor, combine the butter, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Pulse until everything is combined, then run the processor until the mixture comes into a ball. In a small bowl, beat the egg with a tablespoon of water and set it aside with a pastry brush. Cut the fruit paste into ¼-inch batons that are about 6 inches long.
Decorate the rosca. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust a rack to the middle position. Brush the surface of the rosca with the egg wash. Using a tortilla press lined with plastic (or using a flat plate and 2 sheets of plastic), press out a golf ball-size nugget of the streusel into thin, 5-inch round. Peel off the top piece of plastic, then use a knife to trim off the rounded edges, forming a square. Pick up the bottom piece of plastic, lay the exposed square of streusel on your hand, then peel off the now-top plastic. Lay it over the seam of the rosca. Continue with 3 more, placing them at even intervals. If you choose to add the strips of fruit paste before baking, lay them across the rosca between the strips of streusel.
Bake and finish the rosca. Slide the proofed and decorated rosca into the rack in the middle of the oven. Bake until richly golden, usually 25 to 30 minutes. Because you’re working with a heavy, rich dough here, it’s most foolproof to take the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. It’s done when the temperature reaches 200 to 205. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. If you’ve chosen to decorate with the fruit pastes after baking or if you’re using candied orange peel, lightly brush a little honey, agave or simple syrup on the areas between the streusel and lay on the decorations. If you want, give the whole thing a light dusting of powdered sugar.
