You don’t hear of many recipes for Lent. Capirotada is a bread pudding eaten in Mexico throughout Lent and especially on Good Friday. Each of the main ingredients is a symbolic reference to the Passion of Christ. United Methlodist Bilha Alegria remembers her mother making Capirotada. In this video, Bilha passes the recipe on to her granddaughter Alisha Frazier. This simple recipe could be a fun activity for a youth group or a children’s Sunday School class.
Transcript
"My name is Bilha Alegria and I’m here with my granddaughter, Alisha Frazier and we are making Capirotada which is a Lent bread pudding. The bread signifies the Body of Christ. The syrup signifies the Blood of Christ. The cinnamon represents the cross, the cloves represent the nails. And the cheese represents the Holy Shroud, which is the linen used to cover His body."
Capirotada recipe
1 loaf of sliced sandwich bread (18 slices)
18 slices American cheese
1 cup brown sugar or piloncillo
2 cinnamon sticks or 1 T ground cinnamon
6 cloves or ½ tsp ground cloves
1 cup raisins
1 cup pecans
4 ½ cups water
Toast bread slices in an oiled skillet. Arrange 6 slices of bread in a single layer in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Top each piece of bread with a slice of American cheese. Sprinkle pecans and raisins on top of the cheese. Repeat steps, to make three layers
Boil brown sugar or piloncillo, cinnamon and cloves in 4 ½ cups water. Simmer for 15 minutes. If using whole cinnamon and cloves, strain syrup to remove spices.
Pour the syrup evenly over the layered break. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Serve warm.
Bilha and her husband Rudy Alegria are members of Brentwood United Methodist Church in Tennessee.
For more favorite Methodist recipes, visit our webpage: UMC.org/OurUMTable or our page on Pinterest.
This video was produced by United Methodist Communications in Nashville, TN. Contact is Joe Iovino.
This video was first posted on February 21, 2022.
Editor's Note: Bilha Alegria passed away on August 24, 2024, at the age of 73.
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