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Video recipe

About this recipe

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Recipe highlight

Why you’ll love it

Golden toasted bread, dark piloncillo syrup, warm cinnamon, juicy raisins, crunchy peanuts, and salty queso fresco create a sweet-savory Mexican dessert with incredible caramelized texture. 🍞✨

Ingredients

• Bread base 🍞
• 🍞 450 g day-old bolillo or crusty white bread, sliced 2 cm thick (1 lb) gluten
• 🧈 45 g unsalted butter, melted (3 tbsp / 1.6 oz) dairy
• Piloncillo syrup 🍯
• 🍯 250 g piloncillo, roughly chopped (8.8 oz)
• 💧 600 ml water (2½ cups / 20 fl oz)
• 🌿 2 cinnamon sticks
• 🌿 3 whole cloves
• 🍊 3 strips orange peel
• 🧂 1 small pinch fine sea salt
• Filling ✨
• 🍇 100 g raisins (⅔ cup / 3.5 oz)
• 🥜 80 g roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped (½ cup / 2.8 oz)
• 🧀 160 g queso fresco, crumbled (1½ cups / 5.6 oz)
• To finish 🍽️
• 🧀 Extra queso fresco
• 🥜 Extra roasted peanuts
• 🍇 A few raisins
• 🌿 Ground cinnamon
• 🍯 Warm piloncillo syrup

Preparation

• 1 Toast the bread Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Arrange the bread slices in a single layer on a baking tray and brush lightly with melted butter.
• 2 Dry and brown the bread Bake for 10–12 minutes, turning once, until the bread is dry, lightly crisp, and golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
• 3 Make the piloncillo syrup Add the piloncillo, water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange peel, and salt to a saucepan.
• 4 Simmer until aromatic Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the piloncillo has completely dissolved and the syrup is dark, fragrant, and slightly reduced.
• 5 Strain the syrup Remove the cinnamon sticks, cloves, and orange peel. Keep the piloncillo syrup warm so it absorbs easily into the toasted bread.
• 6 Build the first layer Lightly butter a deep baking dish. Arrange half of the toasted bread in the bottom, overlapping the pieces slightly.
• 7 Add raisins, peanuts, and cheese Scatter half of the raisins, roasted peanuts, and crumbled queso fresco evenly over the bread.
• 8 Pour over the syrup Slowly spoon approximately half of the warm piloncillo syrup over the bread, allowing it to soak between the slices rather than pooling only on top.
• 9 Repeat the layers Add the remaining toasted bread, followed by the remaining raisins, peanuts, and queso fresco. Pour over the rest of the warm syrup, concentrating a little extra over any visibly dry bread.
• 10 Let it absorb Allow the assembled capirotada to stand for 15 minutes before baking. The bread should absorb much of the syrup while still keeping its shape.
• 11 Bake until caramelized Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 15–20 minutes until the syrup bubbles around the edges and the exposed bread becomes deeply golden and caramelized.
• 12 Rest and serve Let the capirotada rest for 15 minutes. Serve warm on individual plates and finish with extra queso fresco, toasted peanuts, raisins, a light dusting of cinnamon, and a small spoonful of warm piloncillo syrup.

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