Three Kings Cake Recipes

THREE KINGS' CAKE (GERMANY)

Steps:

• FOR THE CAKE ~ Put 1 1/2 cups of the flour (plus another 2 tablespoons of flour) into a bowl & make a hole in the middle. Into that hole put the yeast & mix it with a pinch of sugar & a bit of lukewarm milk.
• Dust the mixture with flour, then cover it with a cloth & let it rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
• Add the melted butter, salt, lemon, cardamom, 1 egg & egg white (the 2nd yolk is for another purpose), along with the remaining milk & flour, to the flour-&-yeast mixture, kneading the dough until it is smooth.
• When the dough begins to form a ball, stir in the raisins & dried fruit, then form the dough into a log.
• Cut off 1/4 of the log & divide that fourth into 4 equal parts, forming balls from each smaller part.
• Divide the ramaining log into 4 parts & form larger balls from each of those parts.
• Liberally grease a springform pan with a central tube, & place the dough into the pan, alternating large & small dough balls.
• Cover the pan & set it in a warm place so the dough will rise again.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small container beat the egg yolk to a smooth consistency.
• Brush the dough with the beaten yolk & place the filled pan in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.
• Cool the cake thoroughly in the pan on a wire rack before removing it from the pan.
• FOR THE FROSTING ~ Mix the powdered sugar & lemon juice to an icing consistency (not too liquid) & ice the cake, decorating it with the cherries. In Germany, a small gold crown made of foil is often placed in the middle of the cake.

ROSCA DE REYES - THREE KINGS CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In large mixing bowl, cream together butter or margarine and powdered sugar.
• Add eggs and beat again, until light and fluffy.
• Combine dry ingredients, expect chopped nuts.
• Gradually add dry ingredients and vanilla to creamed mixture.
• Sprinkle nuts on bottom of lightly greased 9x5x4-inch loaf pan.
• Pour batter into pan.
• Bake at 350°F for 55 minutes, or until pick comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch.
• Cool 10 minutes; turn cake onto wire rack to cool.
• Insert dry bean or"baby" from the underside of the cake when cool.
• During the last minutes cake is cooking, melt brown sugar in heavy saucepan over low heat.
• Remove from heat and add ground anise and vanilla extract.
• Pour warm syrup over freshly baked, cooled cake.