Epiphany, January 6th, is a Public Holiday in Spain.
The 'Magi' are particularly revered in Spain and it is
is believed that they travel through the countryside re-enacting their journey
to Bethlehem every year at this time, bringing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Some families set up their nativity scene in such a
way as to be able to move the images of the wise men closer and closer to
Bethlehem over the Christmas season. The idea is to have them arrive at the
stable right on the 6th.
The Kings, Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar continue
to arrive on the 5th January every year to villages, towns and
cities throughout Spain to make the annual parade which usually starts at dusk.
They are magically able to appear
simultaneously throughout this entire land as evening falls and they don’t come
empty handed. As their royal majesties
parade about town with their entourage of locals, smiling and waving from
trucks, trailers and even floats, depending on the local council’s resources,
they dutifully throw out handfuls of sweets to the children waiting in the
streets as they pass.
That same night of January 5th, children leave their shoes on the windowsills in
anticipation of gifts and fill them with straw, carrots, and barley for the camels or donkeys of the Three Wise Men. Their favourite is Balthazar who rides
a donkey and is the one believed to leave the gifts. These days though, as Papa Noel or Saint
Nicholas becomes more popular, some lucky children are given gifts on both days
and the gifts are left under the Christmas Tree as the shoes are no longer
large enough to contain the gifts.
Epiphany Breakfast is a special occasion on January
6th with the 'Three Kings’ Cake' the centre of attention. This is a special sweet
bread that is adorned with dried fruits and sugar. Inside, bakers have hidden a
small prize wrapped in paper as well as a bean. The one who finds the lucky
prize is supposed to be King or Queen for the day, a gold paper crown is often
provided with the cake, while he who ends up with the unlucky bean is expected
to pay for next year’s 'Kings’ Cake' and
considering that some of these cakes go for about 20 times the price of a loaf
of regular, unsweetened bread if bought at a bakery, this can be very unlucky
indeed.
Rosca de Reyes
Ingredients: 500 g flour
30 g yeast
100 ml water
1 pinch of salt
zest of a lemon
3 egg yolks
150 ml sparkling wine
100 g melted margarine
1 dried bean
150 g glace fruit
1 beaten egg
For Decoration:
200 g glace fruit for decoration
icing sugar
jam to taste
Preparation
Pour 330 g flour into a large bowl and make a mould
in the centre. Blend the yeast with the remaining flour and add to the
lukewarm water. Add the mixture to the bowl containing the flour,
combine well and shape the dough into a ball. Add the salt, lemon zest,
egg yolk, sparkling wine and the melted margarine. Knead the dough well, it should have the consistency of a bread dough.
Then add the diced glace fruit to the dough and knead
again.
Cover the dough and leave to rest in a warm spot until double in
size. Knead the dough once again and shape into a ring. Place the ring
of dough onto a baking sheet dusted with flour. Now insert a small coin or gift
wrapped into tissue paper and the dried bean into the dough. Cover the
holes. Allow the cake to rise once again.
Brush the cake with beaten egg and decorate with glace fruit. Bake in an oven at
Brush the cake with beaten egg and decorate with glace fruit. Bake in an oven at
160 °C for approx. 1 hour until golden brown. Once
the cake has cooled, brush the candied fruit with jelly and dust with
icing sugar.
Meanwhile, prepare
the filling: In a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade
(or in a blender or electric mixer set at highest speed), buzz the
mozzarella, butter, sugar, and cinnamon about 60 seconds non-stop until
smooth and creamy; scrape down the work bowl sides with a rubber spatula
and beat 60 seconds longer. Note: It will take longer for the electric
mixer to reduce the mixture to creaminess – perhaps 3 to 4 minutes of
steady beating.
Add the egg yolks,
one at a time, beating well after each addition; add the flour and snap
the motor on once or twice to blend. Transfer the mixture to a
small bowl, cover and chill several hours.
Motril January 5th 2012
