Mexican Capirotada: A Delicious Dessert

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• 16 ounces piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar cone), chopped
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tablespoons raw sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 (18 ounce) loaf French bread, sliced
• 1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 ½ cups chopped walnuts
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup chopped dried apricots

Step 1

Lightly heat your oven to 350°F (175°C). While it’s warming up, combine water, piloncillo, cinnamon sticks, sugar, vanilla, and cloves in a pot. Bring everything to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer until it thickens into a syrup—this usually takes about 10 minutes. Once done, fish out the cinnamon sticks and set the syrup aside.

Step 2

Lightly butter each slice of bread and lay them out in a big baking pan. Pop them in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until they’re nicely toasted. Let the butter soak in and dry a bit.

Step 3

Now, grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Layer half of the toasted bread on the bottom, then sprinkle over half of the cheese, walnuts, raisins, and apricots. Pour half of the syrup over everything so the bread soaks it up well. Repeat with the remaining bread, cheese, nuts, fruit, and syrup. Cover the whole thing with foil.

Step 4

Bake the casserole for 20 minutes, then take off the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or so until it’s golden and bubbly. It’s best served warm—enjoy!