Sliced bread brushed with melted butter, toasted until golden, layered with handfuls of nuts and dried fruits, drenched in piloncillo syrup, topped with crumbled salty cheese and baked until it all comes together…. Once out of the oven, it tastes like a cross between French toast and bread pudding. Crisp-on-the-top and moist-in-the-center, every spoonful a delightful mess.
That is Mexico’s most well known version of Capirotada. Being a lover of delicious Mexican style food messes, I am one big fan of it. But some newcomers to the dish are taken aback by the salty cheese on top. What – you may ask like many do – is the need for the cheese on top? Well, that salty tease makes the thick feel and sweet taste of the dish come out in bold strokes in your mouth.
It reminds me of how my father loves to slice sweet bananas over his savory lentil soup; or how my family goes crazy over piling ates (fruit pastes) with Manchego cheese, as so many Mexicans do; or how I used to love eating a handful of chocolate covered raisins right after a handful salty pop corn, and then repeat it again and again at the movies growing up, as long as the movie lasted. Capirotada has that same wild mix.
Once you finish your piece, I bet you will beg for a bit more of that addicting combination. That’s probably why I have received so many requests for a recipe.
That is also why, although capirotada is traditionally made for Lent and we are no way near Easter, I’ve had such a big craving for it in this cold weather. No. I am not waiting until Spring. And I am making it again this Thanksgiving to share with friends.
As it is baked casserole style and it has such a sweet warmness to it, it is perfect for the holidays and for making ahead and just popping in the oven.
There are, as all popular dishes, many versions of capirotada.
All capirotadas call for sliced and toasted bread. Some versions fry the bread in oil or lard to make it crisp and some brush it with melted butter and bake it. I go for the baked.
Also, some versions call for a crusty bread, like a baguette, bolillo or telera, while others call for pan de huevo, an egg and yeast based bread similar to the brioche or challah. Again, I go for the later….
Aside from which kind of bread and how to make it crisp, there seem to be two main camps where capirotada has fallen in the last couple centuries. The capirotada de agua (water based) and the capirotada de leche (milk based). De agua is baked in a piloncillo syrup while de leche goes in a custardy style sauce, with sweetened milk and yolks. Yet, the most traditional is the agua.
Yet the most common, and the one I’ve been asked for the most is de agua. The syrup tends to have the rich tasting piloncillo, true cinnamon and many times whole cloves.
There are many variations as to the additions. Most versions call for peanuts and raisins. So if you are looking for the most traditional capirotada, no need to add anything else. But there are many versions that add other kinds of nuts, fresh fruits like oranges, bananas, plantains, guavas, and grapes and dried fruits like candied figs and acitrón (the oldest recipes I researched about from a couple centuries ago even call for cooked onions, tomatoes and ground meat…)
After trying one too many versions, what I like to combine the most, are pecans and prunes. And I can’t resist adding a full blown layer of bananas, like many cooks in Central Mexico. I am very fond of these three ingredients, and they seem to mingle so happily together, especially tugged between pieces of buttered and toasted slices of bread drenched in syrup…
After the first layer of bread, in go the bananas, prunes, pecans and a bath of syrup.
Then goes another layer of the bread…. with the rest of the syrup poured on top.
As for the question of the cheese…. de leche camp of the capirotadas don’t have cheese, while de agua ones do.
And again…there are many options. While in Michoacán, they tend to sprinkle a dried and crumbly cotija cheese or a queso fresco, in other regions they use melty stronger cheeses like a Mexican Manchego. So you could go for a cheddar, a Monterey Jack or a muenster. You have the chance to play with your taste buds. But as funny as it may sound if it is the first time you try it, don’t skip the cheese…
Capirotada is filling, satisfying and sweet. And that cheese…. really does it’s thing…
Capirotada with Bananas, Pecans and Prunes
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 1 pound grated piloncillo or about 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
- 1 ceylon or true cinammon stick
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 loaf challah or brioche bread cut into 1/2-inch slices (preferably a couple days old)
- 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter to brush bread, plus more to grease baking dish
- 2 ripe bananas peeled and sliced
- 2/3 cup pitted prunes chopped
- 1 cup pecans roughly chopped and toasted
- 4 ounces (about 1 cup) crumbled queso fresco or añejo or cotija
- Pinch ground cinnamon to sprinkle on top (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, pour the water and set it over medium high heat. Once it comes to a simmer, add the grated piloncillo, cinnamon and cloves, reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 25 minutes, until it has all dissolved and has a light syrup consistency. Turn off the heat and remove the cinnamon and cloves.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the bread slices with unsalted butter. Place in a baking sheet and into the oven. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden.
- Butter a 9x13 casserole or baking dish. Place a layer of bread in the bottom covering the entire surface. Cover with the banana slices, prunes and pecans. Pour half the syrup on top. Add another layer of bread, pour the remaining syrup on top and sprinkle the crumbled cheese. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
- Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the syrup has been absorbed. Remove from the oven. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes for the Capirotada to settle and for the entire syrup to be soaked up, then serve. You can also serve it lukewarm or cold. It can also be reheated.