Tradition dictates a morning feast. Modern life has altered this to often mean a lunch or evening feast with loved ones who have gone through to the other side. You know what a feast means – Lots of cooking and lots of Mexican food.
Following are the foods that you can’t leave out of your Day of the Dead celebration.
Pan de Muertos is a sweet anise loaf bread shaped into an oval. The outside is often decorated with spare parts of dough to mimic skeletons or skulls. Sweet breads come in many varieties.
Calaveras de dulces, these sweet candies are a treat for children and adults today. Most often found in the shape of skulls, they can also be formed into lambs, fruits, donkeys, and doves for the more squeamish. Scenes created from these candies can be left on graves along with specially chosen flowers.
If you have bought your alfeniques and would like to add chocolate candy, the directions are simple. Melt your favorite chocolate in a double boiler. White chocolate looks best with the skulls. Use a funnel with a rounded stopper to pour your chocolate (or use a spoon, messier but less expensive) into shaped molds (found below).
Wipe any drips off the edges of your molds and place in the freezer until the mold appears frosted and the candies hard. More time is better than less. Flip the mold over and tap lightly over a towel. Any candies that do not drop out easily should be placed in the freezer a little longer.
