My mom made capirotada most Fridays during Lent. What a joy that was for me and for the whole family. I can still smell the aroma of the cinnamon and brown sugar that went into the traditional recipe she lovingly prepared for us.
I remember that days before, Mother stocked up on sufficient quantities of sliced American cheese (yellow), piloncillo, cinnamon sticks, anise and raisins. She rose early on Friday to go to the panadería to buy two fabulous loaves of its freshly baked pan frances. She sliced the bread first in portions and toasted it in the oven. While the bread was toasting, she made the capirotada “tea” to flavor and sweeten the combined ingredients. Then it was time to eat and enjoy. I ate it hot and even refrigerator cold. What a treat it was for all of us, but especially me.
Several decades later when I started my cooking school, I decided to add this recipe to my curriculum. I did quite a bit of research on the ingredients used in the homes of friends and employees. I learned that people used a variety of nuts and oftentimes prunes and white cheese instead of yellow American cheese.
One day I was in Brownsville in a small Mexican diner and noticed a sign that said, “Capirotada Today.” So I asked the manager what type of cheese they used. The answer was, “Yellow and white!” I thought, of course, this is the border where cultures meet and blend. I had my answer.
Frontera Capirotada
Ingredients
- 1 24- ounce (680 g) loaf split-top, thick-sliced white bread
- 1 cup (200 g) grated piloncillo (brown sugar cone available in Hispanic markets) or 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon (3 g) anise seeds
- 1 4- inch (10-cm-long) cinnamon stick
- 1 cup (159 g) raisins
- 1 cup (125 g) pecan pieces
- ½ cup (48 g) sweetened flaked coconut
- 1½ cups (125 g) shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1½ cups (125 g) shredded Chihuahua or
- Monterey Jack cheese
- Ground cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C). Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish or metal baking pan.
- Cut the bread into 1-inch (2.5-cm) squares.
- On a large baking sheet, spread the bread squares in a single layer. Bake for about 10 minutes to toast the bread to a golden brown. Halfway through the baking time, turn the bread to toast the other side. Set aside off the heat.
- In a large saucepan or stockpot over high heat, combine the piloncillo, anise, cinnamon stick and 6½ cups (2 l) water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Set aside off the heat for about 5 minutes.
- Pour the piloncillo liquid through a fine strainer to remove the solids, reserving the liquid. Add the raisins to the liquid, cover and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to plump raisins.
- Place half the toasted bread in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Again pour the piloncillo liquid through a fine strainer, reserving the liquid and raisins separately.
- Pour about half the liquid over the bread, making certain the bread is completely soaked. Sprinkle half the soaked raisins and half the pecans over the bread. Evenly distribute all the coconut over the raisins and pecans. Layer ¾ cup (62 g) of each of the cheeses over the coconut. Spread the remaining bread pieces over all.
- Pour the remaining liquid over the bread, making certain the bread is completely soaked. Sprinkle the remaining raisins and pecans over the bread. Top all with the remaining cheeses.
- Cover with foil and bake for about 25 minutes, until the mixture has puffed. Remove the foil and set aside to cool for about 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon before serving, if desired.
Notes
Use a box grater or Microplane to grate piloncillo. The form of sugar is very hard. Cutting the cone into pieces requires a heavy cleaver or strong serrated knife and some strength. Sometimes I put it in a bag and hit it with a hammer to break it into smaller pieces for grating.
