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Oven-baked · traditional

Rollo de Pascua de Cuevas

Six lemons, six oranges and a quarter-kilo of pine nuts: the festive bread of Cuevas

also: «rollos», «roscos de Pascua»

Oven-baked Levante

Large rings of dough with oil, citrus, pine nuts and aniseed, studded with almonds and covered in sugar: the bread that went with the turkey rice at Easter in Cuevas del Almanzora.

Rollo de Pascua de Cuevas
Rollo de Pascua de Cuevas

Where it comes from

Cuevas del Almanzora

The "famous rollo de Pascua" of Cuevas del Almanzora is generous down to its recipe: fried oil, ground sugar, water, the zest of six lemons and six oranges, orange juice, a quarter-kilo of pine nuts, aniseed, yeast and flour. The dough is beaten at length, with a little salt, and rests covered until it rises.

Then comes the beautiful part: large rings are shaped, notched along the edges, moistened with orange juice, studded with whole peeled almonds and covered with sugar before the oven. In Cuevas it was eaten with the turkey rice through the four days of Easter: a festive sweet bread more than a dessert, made to last the whole celebration.

In the town people also speak of "roscos de Pascua", another name for the same bread. Today it is mostly a home sweet, with no confitería to champion it: if one reaches you, you have reached the right table.

What it is made with

Underlined ingredients link to Local produce.

How it is made at home

  1. Mix the fried oil, sugar, water, lemon and orange zest, juice, pine nuts, aniseed, yeast and flour, with a little salt.
  2. Beat the dough well and leave it to rest covered until it rises.
  3. Shape large rolls and make cuts along their edges.
  4. Moisten the tops with orange juice and stud them with whole peeled almonds.
  5. Cover with ground sugar and bake in the oven.