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The Magic Kings Night – The Kings Cake


Special dressing: The lion king (turn player on)

Tonight the 3 Magic Kings from the far East will arrive to Spain and when all kids are fast sleep they will get down from their carriages or their camels and enter each house in silence and leave some presents to the kids that have been good. Nobody can be awake or they will just pass that house!

There’s different ways for the kids to ask to the Magic Kings for what they want: they can either write a Kings letter and send it over to them 15 days in advance or so, or give it to their Majesties in person during the 5th of January (you can find them in their thrones in some special streets), which is very impressive for the girls and boys, or go to the Cavalcade and throw the letter to their favorite’s King’s Carriage.
I just love this tradition, the small kids have this special light in their eyes… so precious!!!

La Vanguardia, my favorite online newspaper, will give this Sunday, as a present to the readers, a beautiful book with all these wonderful pictures of Cavalcades in Barcelona city throughout the years, please take a look to the link and you will have a view of what it is this Magic Night!
The Flash document only shows some years, not all of them, but it’s worth to see, enjoy!

The BIG DAY is the 6th when kids wake up (most of the times around 6:00 AM!!!!!) and find all the presents hidden in the dinning room. What a beautiful moment…
When everything is calm again and after lunch, we usually buy (again, we don’t bake it at home, we just buy it) this Roscón – Tortell – Cake, which has a small figure hidden inside (of a popular character) and also a bean. The one who gets the bean is the one that has to pay the cake! And the one getting the figure will be lucky!

I didn’t bake the cake either but I looked for the recipe so that you can bake it if you wish.

Ingredients for 4 servings: 500grs of flour, 75 grs of butter, 15 grs of baking powder, 100 grs. of sugar, 250 ml. of milk and sweetened fruits.

* Mix the baking powder with half a glass of warm water and when it has dissolved add 125 grs. of sift flour. Once we have an homogeneous dough, make a ball and let it rest for 1/2 an hour covered with a wet kitchen cloth.
* Meanwhile, in another recipient mix the rest of the flour with the butter, the suggar and the warm milk. If you boil the milk with a stick of cinnamon, orange peels or lemon, you will get a more aromatic milk. We will also achieve an homogeneous dough that we’ll leave aside and wait until the first one has fermented. When so, take both doughs and mix and work them together for 10 or 15 minutes.
* Let it rest again for 2 hours. Once the time is over, get an oven tray greased with butter, put the dough on it and give it the shape, add the sweetened fruits on top. Wait until its volume increases during 20 minutes and, after, bake it in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes at 180ºC. Take it out of the oven and sprinkle sugar on top. Eat it when it’s completely cold.

Hope you enjoy it!

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Comments

01/05/2008 · 16:21 h by Bellini Valli

It sounds like a magical event for the kids. I would love to see the sparkle in their eyes!!

01/05/2008 · 16:28 h by Bellini Valli

P.S. The cavalcade and celebrations have gotten bigger and more lavish every year it looks like..the book is cool!

01/05/2008 · 22:04 h by Peter M

Nuria, King Juan-Carlos would be so proud and honoured to receive such a cake.

01/06/2008 · 5:58 h by Emiline

That is a beautiful cake! It’s sometimes better to buy store-bought…much easier. Now you can just relax!
I wanted to make a galette des rois but I didn’t have time. Oh well…hope you have a good holiday.
We don’t really celebrate this over in America. :(

01/06/2008 · 10:50 h by Núria

I wish we could be able to take those kids’ eyes’ sparkles and laughters and have them tinned, so that we could open them when we feel down. There’s nothing in the world like that!!!! Don’t you agree Val?

What a coincidence, uh? Yesterday was our King’s Birthday. He turn 70!

Thanks Emiline! Guess what one of the presents I got has been????

A cookbook! Of course! Ready to share more recipes with all of you :D

01/06/2008 · 11:27 h by katiez

Y, Hola Guapa! Bones Festes! Happy King’s Day. I’ve seen the parade in Barcelona one year – and in Segovia, one year. I love the King’s Eve and Day celebrations! None here in France. I may be living in the wrong country…..

01/06/2008 · 14:23 h by Núria

No way you live in the wrong country, Katie!!!! France must be a beautiful place to live! But the weather, for sure is better here in Barcelona ;-)!
Guess what the Magic Kings brought me?

Tic, tac, tic, tac…. Yes! a cookbook!!!

01/07/2008 · 18:29 h by JennDZ - The Leftover Queen

Does Spain have Santa Claus AND The Three Kings? That just doesn’t seem fair! :) I guess Spanish kids are REALLY good. ;)

01/07/2008 · 18:54 h by Núria

Spanish kids are really lucky, Jenn! They have the 3 kings and Santa (imported tradition).
The same happens on Halloween… we have imported the feast!
Maybe you should adopt the 3 kings one too!!!

01/07/2008 · 21:26 h by sugarlaws

King cake! We had some at my office this time last year — it reminds me of New Orleans, but now I’ll think of Spain too!

01/08/2008 · 8:18 h by Núria

Hola Sugarlaws! I think there’s some States in the U.S.A. that have this tradition, but only a few!

01/13/2008 · 17:28 h by Ben

I bought my kings cake this year, too but I want to make it next year. I have never made it before, but the recipe you posted sounds similar to the one used in Mexico. We can bake our own next year and compare them. In Mexico they bake the rosca with a baby Jesus figurine inside and the lucky person to get it has to provide the tamales for the next party. Is there any similar tradition in Spain? It’s a lot of fun getting the figurine and trying to get out of making tamales. Hehehe.

01/13/2008 · 18:00 h by Núria

Hola Ben, here the tradition says that the figurine (a little magic king) will be lucky and also there’s a hidden bean, the one who gets it pays the cake!

I accept the challenge: next year we post our own kings cake!!!

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