← Nouns Cooking · Mexican

Ingredients

• 1 l Water
• 250 g piloncillo, chopped (or dark brown sugar)
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• 400 g bolillos or a day-old baguette, sliced 1.5 cm thick
• 100 g Butter, melted
• 100 g Raisins
• 60 g Pecans, roughly chopped
• 150 g mild cheddar, Monterey Jack or queso fresco, grated or crumbled
• 1 tbsp icing sugar or sprinkles, to finish (optional)

Method

1. Put the water, piloncillo, cinnamon and cloves in a saucepan and simmer for 15 min, stirring until the sugar dissolves, until slightly reduced and syrupy. Strain and keep warm.
2. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Brush the bread slices on both sides with most of the melted butter, lay them on baking trays and toast for 10–12 min, turning once, until golden and dry.
3. Butter a 23 × 33 cm baking dish. Lay in a third of the bread, then scatter over a third of the raisins, pecans and cheese. Repeat twice more.
4. Slowly pour the warm syrup evenly over the whole dish and leave it to soak for 10 min, pressing the bread down gently.
5. Cover with foil and bake for 25 min, then uncover and bake for 10 min more, until the top is golden and the cheese has melted. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with icing sugar.

Tips

• Contains tree nuts (pecans) and wheat; leave out the nuts or use peanuts if that suits your guests better.
• The cheese sounds odd but is traditional: it adds a salty balance to the sweet syrup.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

¡Hola! Jalapeño Rick Bayless My Latina Table