Ingredients

• Custard

  • 7 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup of finely chopped piloncillo
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
  • 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 1 2- to 3-inch canela stick
  • 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
  • 3 egg yolks

  Capirotada

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil plus more as needed
  • 6 5-inch corn tortillas
  • 1 ripe plantain, large
  • 1 pound bolilo or 1 loaf day-old French bread
  • 4 cups pitted prunes, roughly chopped
  • 3/4 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
  • 3/4 cup sultanas
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1/2 cup queso fresco (optional)

Making the Custard

• Heat the milk, cream and piloncillo in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat. Whisk the milk and sugar and add the allspice, cloves and stick canela. Cook the mixture until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

  Stir in the vanilla extract and take the saucepan off the stove. Whisk 3 egg yolks into the milk and cream after it cools.

Assembling and Baking the Caporitada

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set the oven rack to the top position.

  Heat the vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet pan over medium heat. Fry the corn tortillas until heated through but still pliable, about 2 minutes. Don't let the tortillas crisp. Drain the tortillas on paper towels.

  Slice the plantain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Fry the plantain slices on both sides until caramelized, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the plantains on paper towels.

  Line the bottom of the skillet with the tortillas. Bend the tortillas so they reach up the sides of the skillet about 1/2 inch; this prevents the custard from pooling.

  Combine the bread, prunes, pecans, sultanas and plantains in a mixing bowl. Arrange the bread mixture over the tortillas in an even layer.

  Spoon the custard over the bread mixture. Interrupt spooning frequently to allow the bread to absorb the custard. Spoon the melted butter over the capirotada.

  Sprinkle the queso freco on top of the capirotada, if desired. Cover the skillet with foil. Bake the caporitada for 30 minutes and take foil off the pan. Bake the capirotada uncovered until almost all the custard is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

  Take the capirotada out of the oven and set it aside until it absorbs the remaining custard, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Cooking Notes and Substitutions

• • This recipe is scaled for a 10 1/4-inch wide, 3-inch-deep cast-iron skillet. You can use any oven-safe dish, however, without changing the cooking method.
  • For a richer, pleasantly eggy capirotada, use rich bread, such as picon, challah or brioche, instead of bolillos or French bread.
  • Substitute bananas for plantains and most dried fruits and nuts for the sultanas, prunes and pecans as needed. Fruits and nuts commonly used in capirotada include dates, apricots, apples, walnuts and almonds.
  • Substitute 6 tablespoons of light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of molasses for
    piloncillo if needed.
  • Serve capirotada with whipped crema para batir, a Mexican variant of heavy cream.