Tortell de Reis

Ingredients

  • 50 g sultanas
  • 350 g flour
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 200 g butter
  • 400 g sugar
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 250 g fresh almonds
  • 100 g candied fruit
  • 2 small glasses of cognac

The Tortell de Reis is a typical Catalan cake shaped like a ring, made out of puff- or any other kind of pastry, and stuffed with marzipan, covered with fruit.

Step-by-step method:

Blanch the almonds, remove the outer layer and put 60g aside. Put the remainder in the oven to brown, then chop coarsely.

Melt 175 g of butter in a pan and add the sugar, egg yolks one by one, and the lemon zest.

Add one glass of cognac to the mixture and stir well.

Mix the baking powder with the flour, stirring constantly.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, mix with the ground almonds and sultanas, and add to the mixture. (It is traditional to put a small porcelain figure and a dried broad bean in the pastry mix.)

Pour the pastry mix into the mould, put the fresh almonds on top and dust with sugar.

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes, then add the chopped almonds and pieces of candied fruit.

Return to the oven and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes. Turn the cake out of the mould and leave to cool.

For the syrup put 100 g of sugar, six tablespoons of water and a few drops of lemon juice in a pan and heat gently, stirring occasionally.

Pour over the top of the cake (optional).

Ingredients

  • 50 g sultanas
  • 350 g flour
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 200 g butter
  • 400 g sugar
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 250 g fresh almonds
  • 100 g candied fruit
  • 2 small glasses of cognac