Three Kings Bread with a Tropical Twist

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of La Lechera®. All ideas and opinions are my own.

Growing up in Puerto Rico, I remember looking forward to the holiday traditions my family celebrated. One of my favorite holidays was Three Kings Day, or Día de los Tres Reyes Magos, which is observed on January 6th. On the eve of Three Kings Day, I would place grass inside of a shoe box and place it at the foot of my bed. The grass was for the camels that carried the Three Kings. The following morning my gifts would “magically” appear and the grass would be gone. Our family also celebrated Christmas, but Three Kings Day is when gifts were exchanged with family and friends.

Although it’s a bit harder to observe it here in the U.S., it hasn’t stopped me from teaching my children about our Latin culture and traditions. One of those traditions is making Rosca de Reyes, or Three Kings Bread, which is a sweet bread that is eaten on Three Kings Day. This sweet bread is served in many countries including Mexico and Spain. Each culture has their own variation which can include candied fruits to decorate the bread. It’s also common to place the figurine of a baby inside the bread to symbolize baby Jesus.

We didn’t make Three Kings Bread in Puerto Rico, but I do remember having something similar that was filled with pineapple and a sweet cream cheese filling. I wanted to share this with my family, so I took the traditional Rosca de Reyes recipe and gave it a tropical twist to represent my Caribbean roots.

Three Kings Bread with a Tropical Twist

Ingredients

Bread Mix:
5 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of white sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup of evaporated milk
1/4 cup of orange zest
1 tablespoon La Lechera® Sweet Condensed Milk
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 stick of butter

Yeast mixture:
1/4 cup of warm water
1 packet of active dry yeast (1/4 ounce)
1 tablespoon of sugar

Filling:
8 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of crushed pineapple drained

Orange Glaze:
1 cup of confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons of orange juice
1 tablespoons of La Lechera® Sweet Condensed Milk

Instructions

1. Mix warm water, yeast and tablespoon of sugar together. Let it sit for at least 5-10 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan, warm the evaporated milk over medium heat. Add butter, vanilla and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, orange zest, salt, sweetened condensed milk, yeast mixture, eggs and milk mixture. If the dough is too sticky, simply add more flour. If it’s too dry, add more milk.
4. Roll dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to double in size (approximately 1 hour).
5. Cream together sugar, cream cheese, salt and vanilla. Once dough has risen, roll it out into a log shape, spread dough, add a thin layer of cream cheese mixture and crushed pineapple.
6. Seal the dough, shape it into a large ring, and place it on a greased pizza pan.
7. Brush with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. If you want to decorate with candied fruits, add them before baking.
8. Mix confectioners sugar, orange juice and sweetened condensed milk.
9. Cool on a wire rack and pour orange glaze over the bread. Serve and enjoy!

The orange glaze combines fresh orange juice and La Lechera® Sweet Condensed Milk. My mom uses La Lechera® products in many of her desserts, and it has become a staple in our home as well.

I’m glad I gave this recipe a whirl because it truly gave me a taste of home. I hope you’ll give it a try and enjoy it as much as we did!

For more recipe ideas and inspiration check out La Lechera® online, Facebook and Pinterest! Do you celebrate Three Kings Day? I’d love to hear about your family’s traditions!