Try Fruitcakes Mexican Cousin That You Will Actually Want to Eat
For years fruitcake has been one of those foods that is constantly made fun of but what if fruitcake had a Mexican cousin that was special to the time of Lent? Well, there is no genetic familial ties between the two desserts, if you want to classify fruitcake as such, but they seem to be the only thing you can use as somewhat of an example due to the strangeness.
I am in fact talking about capirotada, pronounce like caw-pee-row-tada, which is a Mexican bread pudding instead of a cake. We have previously mentioned in the past that everyone claims their mom makes the best version of a specific dish but this one is subjective due to how it varies.
The way my mom makes capirotada is with bolillo bread that is cut, or torn off, into pieces and placed in an oven safe cooking container. Then a sugary syrup of cinnamon, cloves, and piloncillo is made in a pot of boiling hot water so all those aromatic flavors can be drawn out. You then add raisins and banana's to the torn pieces of bolillo bread and top it off with the syrup and then some cheese. Yes, cheese.
My family does it very simple but other toppings can include shredded coconut, peanuts, pecans, chocolate chips, other dried fruits and even sprinkles. You can see the similarity between fruitcake but the cheese is one of the best parts. There is various religious symbolism to capirotada with the bread representing the body of Christ, the syrup his blood, and the cheese his burial cloth.
This treat is simple and was brought over from Spain by conquistadors but made sweeter and better by the natives. This dish is very much a staple during the time of Lent and can be found locally at various restaurants, such as Montelongo's Restaurant on Clovis Road, in Lubbock. Would you try eating or even making your own capirotada? Let us know in the comments if you would try this and if you have what toppings were on it.