Capirotada Cheesecake Food

CAPIROTADA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Chop 8 oz. piloncillo; place in small saucepan. Add 2 Tbsp. water; cook on medium heat 5 min. or until piloncillo is dissolved, stirring constantly. Cool.
• Meanwhile, mix graham crumbs and 3 Tbsp. butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 min.; cool.
• Beat cream cheese and piloncillo syrup in small bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.
• Chop remaining piloncillo; place in saucepan. Add remaining 3 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. water; cook and stir until piloncillo is completely dissolved. Cool. Reserve 2 Tbsp. syrup for later use. Toss bread cubes with raisins, remaining syrup and remaining butter; spoon over cheesecake batter.
• Bake 1 hour 10 min. or until center is almost set, covering loosely with foil for the last 20 min. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate cheesecake 4 hours. Drizzle with reserved piloncillo syrup.

CAPIROTADA (MEXICAN DESSERT)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine water, piloncillo, cinnamon sticks, sugar, vanilla extract, and cloves in a pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until slightly thickened and reduced to a syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks.
• Lightly butter each slice of bread. Place slices in a large, flat baking pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Let butter dry.
• Grease a 9x13-inch cake pan and add 1/2 of the toasted bread. Sprinkle 1/2 of the Monterey Jack cheese, walnuts, raisins, and apricots over the bread. Drizzle 1/2 of the syrup on top to fully coat the bread. Top with the remaining bread, cheese, walnuts, raisins, apricots, and syrup. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until lightly browned and heated through, about 15 minutes more. Serve warm.

CAPIROTADA

Steps:

• Combine water, piloncillos, cinnamon sticks and green onions in large pot or dutch oven.
• Bring to a boil and cook until the piloncillos are dissolved and the syrup is dark from the spices.
• Taste- you may want to add additional brown sugar or spices depending on your personal tastes.
• Remove from heat and take out onions and cinnamon sticks.
• Toast the french bread (you can do this ahead of time or while the syrup is cooking).
• Spread margarine liberally on both sides of toast.
• Layer toast, cheese, raisins, and nuts in 2 9X13 pans (preferably glass), repeating until both pans are full, ending with a layer of cheese, raisins and nuts.
• Pour the syrup over the top, dividing evenly between both pans, and making sure that all the bread is moistened.
• Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
• Serve hot or cold.
• Store in the refrigerator.

MEXICAN CAPIROTADA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine water, 2 cups brown sugar, and cinnamon sticks together in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and liquid has reduced into a syrup, about 15 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks from syrup using a slotted spoon.
• Spread butter onto each toasted bread slice. Make 1 layer of buttered bread in a deep casserole dish or oven-proof stockpot. Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves over bread layer. Sprinkle 1/4 the raisins, 1/4 the peanuts, 1/4 the remaining brown sugar, and 1/4 the Cheddar cheese over bread layer. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients. Pour cinnamon syrup over entire dish; cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.

CAPIROTADA DE LECHE

Steps:

• Mix 1 cup milk and cornstarch in a bowl until no lumps remain.
• Combine remaining 3 cups milk in a large pan with cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Stir in milk-cornstarch mixture. Hold an egg yolk over the bowl and break its skin to release the inner yolk into the bowl; discard the skin. Repeat to add remaining yolks and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, and add condensed milk. Taste to see if it's sweet enough; if not, add sugar. Cook and stir until it's thick like a yogurt drink, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove and discard cinnamon stick and vanilla bean.
• Grease a 9x13-inch pan with butter. Slice dinner rolls into 1/2-inch thick pieces.
• Making about 3 or 4 layers in the prepared pan, start with a layer of bread. Cover bread with some of the milk mixture, but don't overdo it. Decorate with pecans, raisins, coconut, and sprinkles. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used up. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

CAPIROTADA (MEXICAN BREAD PUDDING)

Steps:

• Add the apple, onion, piloncillo, cinnamon, cloves, salt and 1 whole peeled banana to a medium pot. Depending on what type of bread you are using, add 6 cups water (if using bolillos or birotes) or 7 cups (if using a dense baguette) to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn to medium-low to simmer for 15 minutes, until the piloncillo has dissolved and the liquid becomes fragrant. Turn off the heat and let steep for 5 minutes.
• Pour the liquid through a strainer or colander, reserving the liquid and discarding the solids. Thinly slice the remaining 2 bananas and set aside.
• Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with the butter, and line the bottom of the dish with a half of the bread cubes. (You'll need enough to cover the bottom of the dish in one layer.) Layer on half the sliced bananas, raisins, almonds and cheese. Ladle half of the liquid over the first layer until completely coated.
• Add another layer with the remaining bread, banana, raisins, almonds and cheese, then use the remaining liquid to coat the top layer. Gently press down on the bread to make sure it fully absorbs the liquid.
• Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and allow the capirotada to sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour so the bread fully absorbs most of the liquid.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Add the capirotada, still covered with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the top layer lightly browns.
• Remove from the oven and let the capirotada rest for 20 minutes before serving so it fully sets. Serve with more almond slices.

CAPIROTADA (MEXICAN BREAD PUDDING)

Steps:

• Place raisins in a small bowl and pour enough Brandy so that raisins plump up.
• In a small sauce pan, add water, cinnamon sticks, and sugar. Boil over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
• Remove cinnamon sticks and pour raisins into mix.
• Place toasted bread slices in 9 x 13 baking pan.
• Layer ingredients: cheese, pecans, bread -- etc. Repeat steps until all bread is used. (Save some pecans for last topping).
• Pour cinnamon mix over bread pudding and sprinkle pecans on top.
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

EASY CAPIROTADA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Peel the apples then core and chop into 1 inch cubes.
• Spread the margarine on the bread and cut into one inch cubes. Place half in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish and sprinkle with half of the apples, raisins and apricots. Repeat with next layer.
• Now in a small sauce pan, bring the syrup, cloves and cinnamon to a simmer. Cover and remove from heat.
• With a small strainer, remove the cloves and stick from the syrup and toss them. Pour this over the bread mix in dish.
• Mix well enough to distribute the syrup.
• Bake for 20 minutes and serve warm.

CAPIROTADA (SYRUP-COATED BREAD PUDDING)

Steps:

• To make the syrup, mix the sugar, water, cinnamon stick and cloves in a saucepan and boil, stirring, until the mixture forms a light syrup. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk.
• Toast the bread until lightly browned. Spread the butter on the bread.
• Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Cover the sides and bottom of a cazuela or casserole with the tortillas. Dip each piece of bread into the syrup and arrange a layer of bread in the bottom of the cazuela. Sprinkle with part of the cheese, raisins and nuts until all the ingredients have been used.
• Strain the syrup that is left over and pour over the pudding. Cover the cazuela with foil and bake the pudding for 20 minutes, uncovering periodically and smoothing the surface of the pudding with a wooden spoon. Lower the oven temperature to 300 F (150 C) and bake for another 30 minutes. Serve lukewarm.
• Variation: Cover the pudding with meringue and bake in a 500 F oven for 5 minutes or until the surface is golden brown.