A sweet ending to the holiday season

Three Kings Day marks the end of the Christmas season for many Latino families, and the pastries are the centerpiece of the annual celebration. At America's Cafe & Bakery in Maywood, manager Manuel Cordova had to bake more than 3,000 roscas this year, so he began to prepare four months ago. He ordered nearly 6,000 pounds of dough, about 3,000 blue-and-gold boxes, 70 pounds of figs and 200 pounds of a secret ingredient from Mexico. His crew of eight worked 17-hour days in the last week to bake about 500 roscas a day. More than 1,500 were shipped to five nearby grocery stores. Dozens more went flying off the shelf Wednesday. Read more here:

Photo: Cesar Tello, 22, pulls a freshly baked rosca out of the oven at America's Cafe & Bakery in Maywood for Three Kings Day. The traditional pastry is meant to resemble a crown. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times