January

January 6th is called El día de reyes or “The Day of Kings” in Spanish. Spanish children write the three kings (or the Three Wise Men, as they are also called) letters and every Spanish child knows them by name (Gaspar has a brown beard, Melchor has a white beard and Baltazar has black skin). On the night of January 5th – 6th when everyone is sleeping, the Three Wise Men come from the east riding on camels, then they magically enter your house and leave you presents.
For breakfast on January 6th, Spanish people eat a roscón de reyes, or “Kings' Cake”, which is a sweet festive bread in the shape of a large ring. The cake often has a cream or chocolate filling and is topped off with bright candied fruit. It tastes very good.
But when you eat Kings' Cake you have to be careful, because you might find something inside: a little toy figure or a bean. If you find the bean in your cake, it means that next year you have to pay for the cake. But if you get the toy figure, it means that you are the king (or queen) for the day and you will have good luck for the entire year.

Ingredients
Cake
30 g. yeast
4½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 to 3 eggs
Pinch of salt
1 small figurine and 1 dried bean, to hide inside the cake
Garnish and filling
Candied fruits, almonds and sugar
1 beaten egg, for glazing (optional)
Whipped cream or chocolate filling (optional)

Directions
1. Mix the yeast and half of the flour, then slowly add the milk. Once mixed, cover in a bowl and let rise for half an hour.
2. Put the remaining flour in a different bowl and slowly mix in the sugar, eggs and salt.
3. When the first dough ball has doubled in size, mix both dough balls into one and set it aside to double in size again (about 2 hours).
4. When the dough has risen a second time, move it to a greased baking sheet. Form the dough into a ring and insert the small figurine and the bean. Make sure the dough forms an unbroken ring. Set it aside to double in size for a third time.
5. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. When the dough has doubled in size, decorate it with candied and dried fruit, nuts, and sugar. You can also glaze it with a beaten egg. Bake the ring for 20 to 30 minutes, then set aside to cool.
6. One common option is to cut the cake horizontally and fill it with whipped cream or chocolate. Then eat it! It is usually accompanied by a mug of hot chocolate. ¡Delicioso!