La tradición

Hello hello,

I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. I wanted to celebrate my first week of online teaching and I kept thinking: What can I make or treat myself to? It is April and it is getting closer to Easter so I figured now would be a perfect time for an all time favorite dessert of mine: capirotada. Do not fear the name or the pronunciation, capirotada translates to bread pudding but bread pudding seems too simplistic, CAPIROTADA is waaaaaayyyy more sophisticated (or so I want to believe). It is a super versatile dessert that will satisfy just about anyone's sweet tooth! I was inspired to prepare capirotada because as mentioned we are close to Easter and this is a family favorite that my family enjoys during lent. Not only is this one of my favorites but it is also one of my dad's favorites and we usually battle it out for the last bite. My aunt on my dad's side is a master chef when it comes to capirotada and my dad in fact told me it was his mom; my grandma, who prepared this for all her kids and it has been in the family since. I'll stop talking now and get to to the good stuff. ENJOY!


Ingredients:
4-6 pieces of bolillo bread (you can find this specific type of bread in any Latin American bakery). You can also substitute bolillo with french bread.
2 1/2 cups of whole milk
1 can of evaporated milk
2 cinnamon sticks
4-6 cloves
2 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1/4 cup of brown sugar
Shredded coconut
Raisins
Sprinkles

Optional
Peanuts
Almonds
Dried fruit
*This is what I meant when I said this dessert is versatile you can literally add or take any of these toppings away. I've seen many variations of capirotada over the years, in fact my husband's family makes this completely different and it's good but mine is better (no shade).

Preparation 15-20 mins
1. Begin by slicing your bolillo into small slices (it helps when cutting through the bread vertically).
2.In a non-stick saucepan bring your 2 1/2 cups of whole milk to a boil and add in both cinnamon sticks and cloves. Then add your can of evaporated milk and vanilla extract. Lastly add the brown sugar and whisk until all ingredients have dissolved.
3.Let your milk mixture cool for 10-15 minutes
4.Begin your layers by adding a layer of the mixture into the bottom of your dish (I recommend you use a casserole baking dish or any dish that is deep enough to create layers). Following the mixture add your bread slices and layer on some more of the milk mix, add your toppings such as the shredded coconut, raisins, sprinkles (remember you can substitute my toppings for your favorites). Repeat by adding more bread, milk mixture and another layer of your toppings. If you finish layering and you have any of the milk mixture left over go ahead and add it to your dish the bread will soak up the milk-which is what you want.
5.Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.