Dreikönigskuchen – Three Kings’ Cake with Raisins

Three Kings’ Cake is a lightly sweet bread, served in some regions on Epiphany Day (January 6th). There are many variations, depending on the area. I’ve written more about it in the Dreikönigskuchen – Three Kings’ Cake recipe, so check that out for more information.

This King’s Bread is a variation of the classical Three Kings’ Cake, with a slightly lighter yeast dough and added raisins. You can also use other dried fruits like cranberries or sour cherries, or chocolate drops.

My traditional Dreikönigskuchen – Three Kings’ Cake is without raisins.

Ingredients for one Three King’s Cake yeast dough:

• 500g all-purpose or bread flour (I use Type 550 or 405 in Germany)
• 200g lukewarm milk
• 30g fresh yeast
• 60g caster sugar (4 tbsp)
• 60g butter (room temperature)
• 1 large egg or 30gr milk (2 tbsp)
• 5g salt (1 tsp)
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar
• peel of half a lemon
• 100g Raisins

For the egg wash:

• 1 egg
• a pinch of salt

For the topping:

• almond flakes or pearl sugar (Hagelzucker)

The instructions on how to make this bread (I call it bread because it tastes more like sweet bread than a cake) are like the ones for Light Yeast Dough (Hefeteig). You can check out the link to the recipe which provides not only instructions but also pictures.

1. Mix the flour with the salt.
2. Make a hole in the middle and add the yeast.
3. Add half of the sugar (30g or 2 tbsp).
   
4. Add the lukewarm milk.
   
5. Cover the milk with the flour from the sides. You can use a spoon.
6. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it proof for 10-15 minutes.
7. When the time has passed you should see that the yeast is starting to rise and bubble.
   
8. Wash the raisins and remove the excess water using a sieve.
9. Add the remaining sugar, egg, butter, lemon peel, and vanilla sugar to the bowl and start kneading it. You can use your hands or a mixing bowl. The dough is done when it has a smooth surface and can be easily removed from the sides of the bowl.
   
10. Add the raisins and gently incorporate them. Depending on the mixing machine, you may need to knead the dough by hand at the end to get a uniform distribution. I like mixing my dough by hand for 1-2 minutes in the end so that I can get a proper feel for it and knead it until it’s ready.
11. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise until it doubles in volume. At room temperature, this usually takes about 45min – 1h.
    
12. When it doubles in volume, cut 8 pieces of about 90g each (or 9 pieces of about 80g each) and the remaining dough will be used for the bigger piece in the middle. You can also adjust the number of pieces depending on the number of family members. Of course, there’s an extra one as a reward for my hard work in the kitchen. 😀
    
13. Roll the pieces to give them a nice shape and put the small dough balls around the bigger one on a tray covered with baking paper. They should look like a flower or a crown.
    
14. Let them proof again for about 20-30 min before baking.
15. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/392°F (no ventilation).
16. Beat the egg for the egg wash with a pinch of salt.
17. Apply the egg wash on top of the flower.
18. Sprinkle almond flakes or pearl sugar on top. Almond flakes tend to burn quite fast so try to cover the bread with baking paper, towards the end of the baking time.
    
    
19. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. In the last 8-10 minutes, cover the flower with another baking paper if it starts to brown too much on top.
    
20. Before taking it out of the oven, stab a toothpick in the middle to check if it’s baked. If it comes out clean, it’s done.
    

This bread is light and fluffy, perfect to eat as it is or with spreads. Look how fluffy it is inside!

My family and I ate it while it was still warm. You can also spread honey, Nutella (nougat cream), jam, butter, or even cheese slices and cold cuts.

I also make Dreikönigskuchen – Three Kings’ Cake without raisins.