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The best recipe for Coca de San Juan
The San Juan cocas recipe is an excellent option when preparing a delicious dessert to enjoy or surprise your clients, family or loved ones. Its round shape and full of small pieces of confined fruits give it a traditional and particular touch, which attracts the attention of all dessert lovers.
Next, we will explain each step in detail and the ingredients you should use so that you can surprise everyone who eats this delicious dessert:
Ingredients of the Coca de San Juan recipe:
500 grams of flour (wheat)
75 grams of sugar.
2 eggs.
50 grams of lard (animal fat)
50 grams of butter (lard, margarine)
· 50 milliliters of hot milk.
· A nut of fresh yeast.
· The complete zest of 1 lemon.
· Half a teaspoon of ground anise.
· Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
· 150 grams of cherries (sour cherries, picotas) candied (dry).
· 50 grams of pine nuts.
· 100 grams of candied fruits (dried).
Tips and recommendations before starting the recipe:
Before starting the preparation of our San Juan coca recipe, we must have all the ingredients and utensils at the disposal of our hands, so that the preparation of the recipe is facilitated. You can also go, preheating the oven while preparing the dough. This is because its process is long and you must divide the dough into two parts, so that your recipe is good.
The manual kneading that you are going to carry out should be for a period of approximately 10 to 15 minutes so that your dough is smooth. If you do it in the kneading machine, you must place it on medium speed and with a duration of 8 minutes.
The wheat flour that you are going to use should preferably be upholstered so that your dough does not have any lumps and is well kneaded. The most recommended thing is that it must be a good special flour for breads.
Step to follow for the preparation of the coca de San Juan:
Note : Since the recipe is a bit long, it will be broken down step by step into three different processes.
For the preparation of the first dough:
1. Start the preparation of the dough by pouring half of the wheat flour (250 grams) into a bowl.
2. Shape into a volcano and add the eggs, the lard, the butter, two-thirds of the sugar, the aniseed, the lemon zest and the cinnamon.
3. Work with the tips of the fingers and the bottom of the hands for manual kneading until obtaining a smooth and homogeneous dough. You will know that the dough is ready when it stops sticking to your fingers.
For the preparation of the second dough:
1. Pour the remaining 250 grams of wheat flour into another bowl.
2. Work with the dough until your dough is homogeneous like the first, the dough should not stick from your fingers, so you know that your dough is ready to cook.
3. Roll it into a ball, put it in a bowl, cover it with a clean napkin or dish towel and let it rest in a warm place until it is twice its initial size.
Preparation of things of San Juan:
1. Next, mix the two doughs, work them with your hands and when it is homogeneous, divide it again in two and roll out both parts with a rolling pin.
2. Shape them into an oval shape and transfer them to a baking tray, previously greased with margarine or butter. This should be done so that the already greased tray prevents your dessert from sticking to the bottom and they will give it a fluffier touch.
3. Brush the surface of the San Juan cocas and distribute the candied, chopped fruits, decorating them to your liking.
4. Fill the free spaces with pine nuts, pressing them slightly so that they adhere and cover the San Juan cocas with a cloth, leaving them to rest for 2 hours until the volume increases.
5. Finally, sprinkle them with the remaining sugar and put them in the oven, previously heating at medium high temperature, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges have a good golden color.
6. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool completely before serving.
Additional recommendations for a recipe for Cocas de San Juan:
With this same recipe you can make it in the different and creative way that you like, because this type of dessert has different ways of preparing, as long as it does not leave its traditional dough. Many pastry chefs fill this dessert with cream cheese, pastry cream even add raisins and prepare it creatively. So you can give it your authentic touch. Even if its traditional shape is mostly round, there are various countries or traditions that are making it square.
Curiosities of the Cocas de San Juan:
· Its name of origin comes from the Latin verb coceré or (to sew).
· One of the first who began to prepare this recipe were the Europeans and Egyptians, many of them did it to perform pagan cults.
· It is currently one of the best-selling desserts in Spain, mainly in Barcelona, so much so that last year they sold 900,000 artisanal cocas de San Juan, in Barcelona alone.
· Previously, these San Juan cocas desserts were made with the rest of the dough that had been left in the family homes, and they only added sugar, dried fruits if they had, and cooked them. Many of these people who did this, after preparing them, they took them to the baker for him to cook.
· They also had the culture of eating this type of dessert with sweet wine or stale wine, for them it was a delight to dislike these wonderful desserts of cocas de San Juan with a good wine.
· They took the opportunity to share with their family, friends or loved ones, upsetting them in the traditional way, round, sugary and with an excellent flavor.
