King's cake / Bolo rei.

Hello and Happy New Year to all of you!

After a holiday break, here we are, full of energy and ready to roll.
During the next few weeks, I'll be sharing with you the recipes I cooked throughout the Christmas season and hope they inspire you for next Christmas or for some other special occasions.

And because today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, I leave you with this delicious King's cake.

King's cake is eaten in Portugal throughout all the Christmas season and you can check here if you want to know more about this cake and its tradition.

The recipe that I chose comes from São's blog and it is truly delicious.

ingredients for the cake:

2 medium eggs, beaten

170ml milk

2 tbsp butter, softened

2 tbsp Port wine

grated zest of 1 orange

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp fine sea salt

500g strong white flour

50g caster sugar

7g active dried yeast

dried fruit and nuts such as: sultanas, raisins, hazelnuts, almonds, etc.

to decorate:

1 egg yolk, beaten, to brush

icing sugar

crystallised fruits

walnut halves (optional)

method:

Put all the ingredients (except the dried fruits and nuts) inside the bread machine pan following the manufacturers instructions regarding the order liquids/dry ingredients and set your machine to the dough setting.

When ready, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 1 minute.

Roll the dough into a rectangle and spread evenly with the dried fruit and nuts. Roll the far side of the dough towards you to make a swiss roll and shape the dough into a large ring.

Place the ring on a baking tray lined with baking paper and leave to prove for about 30 minutes or until it doubles in size.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Brush the ring with the beaten egg yolk and decorate with the crystallised fruit and the walnuts (if using).

Spoon little tsp of icing sugar in between the fruits and bake for about 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Cool on a wire rack and enjoy.

This cake makes a fantastic toast when stale.

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Olá a todos e Feliz Ano Novo!

Após uns dias de férias, cá estamos de volta à rotina e visto hoje ser dia de reis, nada melhor que celebrá-lo com um magnífico e super delicioso bolo rei.

Quem me segue desde o Salsa Verde, sabe o quanto adoro o blogue da São e o quanto o Rapa Tachos me inspira e delicia e, mais uma vez, foi a este delicioso blogue que fui buscar a receita do bolo rei que aqui vos deixo.

Já sabem, caso queiram experimentar esta delícia, só têm de ir ver a receita aqui.
Durante as próximas semanas irei partilhar convosco as receitas que fui cozinhando durante a época natalícia e espero que as mesmas vos sejam úteis ou sirvam de inspiração, não só para o próximo Natal, mas quem sabe, para outras ocasiões especiais.

Recipe / Receita: Rapa Tachos.