Has rainy season started to get you down? Can you only get as far as the tiendita on the corner of your street because the thought of spending the afternoon traipsing up to la Demo through streams of water fills you with dread? Need some homemade comfort food to satisfy your sweet tooth and you can’t face another packet of las galletas Chichis? This has to be the simplest dessert you can make with all of the ingredients easily available from your local tienda. Guatemala’s superior version of bread pudding this month’s recipe must be tried!
Note: You will need an oven for this recipe. Find out which of your friends has an oven before you start this recipe!
Ingredients
· Two cups of milk (full fat works best)
· One cup of sugar
· One teaspoon of vanilla extract
· Four teaspoons of canela en polvo
· One cup of raisons known as ‘pasas uvas’ if by chance you can’t find them at the tienda, every market seller will have them, usually next to el frijol y arroz
· Bread crumbs made from bread from the day before – it’s preferable to make these yourself but you can buy ‘miga de pan’ by the packet at most stores, and certainly in Xelapan
· Half a cup of chocolate para tomar grated.
Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 190 oc
2. Prepare the breadcrumbs making sure all the bread is broken up and smooth
3. In a large mixing bowl pour in all the milk and add the breadcrumbs little by little, mixing them together until all the milk has been absorbed by the bread. Leave for five minutes and then add all the other ingredients
4. Mix well and then pour into a medium sized square cake tin or over-proof dish
5. Cook for around 30 minutes in the oven. Because the knife will never come out clean to test if the mixture’s ready touch the top to see if it has a spongy consistency.
Bocado de la Reina is usually cut into squares and served cold, or wait until its at least lukewarm if you’re impatient and want to serve it straight out the oven. It goes perfectly with a chocolate caliente to warm those wet, rainy afternoons.
