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easter sweet bread

Easter Sweet Bread (Easter Rosca)

Bianca Turci
This Easter Sweet Bread (Easter Rosca or “Rosca De Pascua“) is a traditional Easter bread made with fluffy brioche dough topped with custard and decorated with candied cherries! Pillowy-soft, sweet, and delicious, it’s the perfect addition to your Easter table!
5 from 5 votes
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Bread
Cuisine Latin American
Servings 10 people
Calories 305 kcal

Ingredients
  

For The Dough

  • 3 cups (370 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) white granulated sugar
  • 2 and 1/2 tsp (7 g) instant yeast
  • 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp (170 ml) milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
  • 1/2 stick (55 g) unsalted butter

For The Custard

  • 1 and 1/2 cups (375 ml) milk
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
  • 3 tbsp (30 g) cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For Topping

  • Candied cherries

Instructions
 

  • Make the dough. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, sugar, yeast, milk, egg, extracts, and salt. Mix until a sticky dough comes together and starts pulling away from the bowl. Add in the butter and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
  • Let raise. Form into a ball, brush with oil, place in a clean bowl greased with oil and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. While the dough is rising, make the custard.
  • Make the custard. Pour the milk in a medium pot over low heat, allow to heat until hot but not simmering or boiling. As the milk is heating, add the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch to a medium bowl and beat until pale yellow in color. Pour about 1-2 tablespoon of the hot milk into the egg mixture, and mix until combined. Repeat this process 1-2 more times to allow the eggs to match the temperature of the milk, then slowly pour egg mixture into the hot milk as you mix.
    Cook over low heat until thickened while mixing constantly. Once thickened, turn off the heat, mix in the vanilla extract, pour the custard into a clean bowl, and cover with plastic wrap making sure the plastic wrap touches the custard. Allow to come down to room temperature.
  • Shape into a garland. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to release any air bubbles, then gently roll it into a log and connect the two ends to form a garland. When rolling the dough into a log, be very gentle and try not to overwork it or press it down too much and do not knead it again.
    Place the garland onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to raise for 20-30 minutes or until puffy. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
  • Add the custard. Place the custard into a piping bag, cut off the tip, the pipe the custard onto the garland. Brush any custard-free areas with milk.
  • Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick (inserted into one of the sides going towards the center) comes out clean. Remove from the oven and immediately decorate with candied cherries and pearl sugar. Enjoy!

Notes

Make-Ahead Instructions: follow the recipe through step 1, then place the covered bowl with the dough in the refrigerator and allow the dough to raise in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, take it out and allow the dough to come to room temperature by leaving it on the counter for about 40 minutes, then follow the recipe. You can also make the custard ahead of time (step 2). Follow step 2, then place the covered bowl with the custard in the refrigerator. Chill overnight and take it out when ready to use, the next day.
Storing Instructions: store any leftovers in an air-tight container at room temperature for a day. If you need to store your Rosca for longer than a day or if your kitchen is particularly hot, store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Keep in mind that refrigerators tend dry out baked goods rather quickly. At the same time, custard needs to be refrigerated if it's very hot or a lot of time goes by.
Freezing Instructions: place any leftover Rosca into a ziplock bag or freezer-safe air-tight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 305kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 8gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 49mgPotassium: 149mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 326IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 83mgIron: 2mg
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