Roscón purchased from La Tienda
Despite spending almost every summer of my young life in Madrid, I never had the good fortune of spending Christmas in Spain. As such the “Roscón de Reyes¨ was a somewhat mythical creature to me – the stuff of legends. Each Epiphany my mother would tell my sister and I stories about the roscones she ate growing up in Spain. She also bemoaned the fact that after moving to the US with my father, she had never been able to eat a Roscón from Spain. Her last bite of one was some 48 years ago!
Last year I endeavored to change that, so after much research on recipes for a classic Roscón, and watching videos demonstrating how to make one, I found a good recipe and went to work.
Basic ingredients
Freshly grated orange
It was a fair amount of work at that for an inexperienced baker, but it was fun.
Risen dough
What I ended up with was a pretty good looking cake, but I could only guess at whether it actually tasted like a real Roscón from Spain.
Roscón made by yours truly
This year I was fortunate to learn that one of my favorite suppliers of goods from Spain, La Tienda, would be importing Roscones de Reyes from Galicia, and shipping them via UPS to clients. I promptly ordered two, one for my family and one for my parents.
Roscón purchased from La Tienda
To my delight I saw that my first time Roscón was actually not too far off from the “real thing”. Likewise, it was delicious. We shared it first thing this morning, and my youngest found “la figurita” in her slice, a portent of good luck for the year. My husband also had the “good fortune” of finding “la haba” or bean in his piece signifying next year he has to pay for the Roscón. Around noon I stopped by my parents house and dropped of theirs. My mother immediately cut a piece, ate it, and beamed. Then she had a couple more…
La figurita which my little one found
I hope to be able to share a Roscón de Reyes from Spain for many years to come with my family. Better still, perhaps one year I will be able to eat one in Madrid. ¡Feliz Reyes!
[...] HOW SOME OF OUR FRIENDS CELEBRATE WITH THEIR FAMILIES Cutting the Rosca de Reyes from Silvia at Mamá Latina Tips Villancicos for Los Reyes from Monica at Mommy Maestra Celebrating new and old traditions for Día de Los Reyes from Nadia at Justice Jonesie Making my first roscón from María Amelia at Mommylogue [...]