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Capirotada (Mexican Dessert)
Prep
15 mins
Cook
1 hr
Servings
16
Difficulty
Hard
My abuela taught me this beautiful capirotada recipe years ago, and it's become my favorite way to use up leftover bread while creating something truly magical. This traditional Mexican bread pudding is wonderfully simple to make, requiring just basic pantry staples and about an hour of your time. The piloncillo syrup infused with cinnamon and cloves creates an incredibly aromatic sauce that transforms humble bread into pure comfort. I love that walnuts add healthy omega 3 fatty acids to this dessert, making it feel slightly more virtuous than it tastes. Whether you're celebrating a special occasion or just craving something warm and nostalgic, this dish comes together easily and never fails to impress.
Ella x
Ingredients
- 33 cups water
- 1616 ounces piloncillo (mexican brown sugar cone), chopped
- 33 cinnamon sticks
- 22 tablespoons raw sugar
- 22 tablespoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ cup butter¼ cup butter
- 11 (18 ounce) loaf french bread, sliced
- 11 ½ cups shredded monterey jack cheese
- 11 ½ cups chopped walnuts
- ½ cup raisins½ cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped dried apricots½ cup chopped dried apricots
Detail level
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- 2
Combine water, piloncillo, cinnamon sticks, sugar, vanilla extract, and cloves in a pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until slightly thickened and reduced to a syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks.
- 3
Lightly butter each slice of bread. Place slices in a large, flat baking pan.
- 4
Bake in the preheated oven until toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Let butter dry.
- 5
Grease a 9x13-inch cake pan and add 1/2 of the toasted bread. Sprinkle 1/2 of the Monterey Jack cheese, walnuts, raisins, and apricots over the bread. Drizzle 1/2 of the syrup on top to fully coat the bread. Top with the remaining bread, cheese, walnuts, raisins, apricots, and syrup. Cover with aluminum foil.
- 6
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until lightly browned and heated through, about 15 minutes more. Serve warm.
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