King’s Cake: Rosca de Reyes

Rosca de Reyes / King’s Wreath Cake:

(Happy Epiphany!)

Dough

• 2/3 cup (152g) milk
• 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cold
• 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons yeast or 50-100g sourdough starter
• 3 cups (390g) flour

Filling

• 2 tablespoons (28g) butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest, orange zest, or lime zest
• (Optional: 1/2 cup (57g) chopped nuts and 3/4 cup (90g) dried mixed fruits)

Garnish

• candied cherries and/or candied orange peel
• almonds, pecans, cashews, or walnuts, toasted and sliced

Instructions

• To make the dough: Heat the milk to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour the hot milk over the butter, sugar, and salt, and stir occasionally until the butter melts. Cool the mixture to lukewarm.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the milk mixture, eggs, and yeast/starter. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing and kneading until a soft, smooth dough forms.
• Place the dough in a greased container, cover it, and set it in a draft-free place to rise until doubled.
• After the first rise, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and let rest 10 minutes; roll into a 20" x 12" rectangle.

• For the filling: Brush the surface of the dough with the melted butter, leaving a 1/2" border bare along one of the long edges. 
• Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the nuts, mixed fruits and zest, and stir to coat. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the buttered section dough.

• To assemble: Roll up the dough cinnamon-roll-style, working toward the edge with no filling on it. Pinch the seam together to seal it firmly, then bring the ends together to form a ring. 
• Grease the outside of a small bowl or ramekin and put it on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the ring, seam-side down, around the bowl. Pinch together the seam again where the two ends meet to ensure the ring is sealed.  
• Flatten the ring slightly, and make cuts in the dough at 1 1/2" intervals around the outside edge. Hide a doll, candy, or blanched almond inside the bread. (Whoever finds it is the winner!) Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until nearly doubled (about 30 to 40 minutes).

• To bake: Once the dough is shaped and is rising for the second time, preheat the oven to 350°F. When the dough is risen, remove the plastic wrap, and brush the top with the egg wash. Place the candied orange peels in the cuts and the candied cherries (cut in half) in the spaces between the slits in the dough, and decorate with nuts as desired.
• Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, covering the loaf after the first 15 minutes, as it will brown quickly. Remove the bread from the oven when the inner parts of the slits look cooked and the interior measures 190°F when measured with an instant-read thermometer. Cool the bread on a rack before slicing and serving.