South of the Border Bread Pudding

This South of the Border bread pudding is based on capirotada, the traditional Mexican Lenten dessert that combines bread, fruit, cheese, and nuts in a spiced syrup. It sounds unusual if you’ve never had it, but the combination of melted Monterey Jack cheese with brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins is addictive.

Instead of the egg custard you’d find in a classic French bread pudding, this version soaks French bread cubes in a boiled orange juice and brown sugar syrup spiked with cinnamon. The syrup absorbs into the bread and creates a moist, candy-like sweetness.

Toasted almonds add crunch throughout, and the cheese melts into soft, stretchy pockets that give each bite a savory counterpoint to all that sweetness. It’s the kind of dessert that makes you pause and take another bite just to figure out why it works so well.

Kitchen Tips

• Use day-old French bread. Fresh bread is too soft and turns to mush in the syrup.
• Toss the bread with the syrup, cheese, and almonds quickly so the bread absorbs the liquid evenly.
• Reserve some cheese for the top so it melts into a golden, bubbly layer during baking.
• Serve warm. The cheese firms up as it cools and the pudding loses that stretchy, gooey quality.

Variations

• Add a layer of sliced banana or dried apricots for more fruit.
• Use piloncillo (Mexican unrefined sugar) instead of brown sugar for a more authentic flavor.
• Swap almonds for pine nuts or pecans.