El Dia de los Muertos

El Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead is not the name of a cult horror flick, but a celebration that originated with the Aztec civilization in Mexico. What was once a month-long commemoration of the dead has evolved into a celebration that begins at midnight on Oct. 31, when the gates of heaven are said to be opened to allow the spirits 24 hours to reunite with loved ones until Nov. 2, much like All Souls' or All Saints' Day.

To prepare for the deads' arrival, families create and decorate an altar, known as an ofrenda. Offerings include various items which can range from flowers, fruits, hot cocoa, Pan de Muerta, candles, soda, and anything else a weary spirit might need for rejuvenation. For rural peoples, this can become an expensive prospect, but it's a responsibility taken with much pleasure and enjoyment. On Nov. 2, the party is taken to the graveyard, where music is played, tombstones are cared for and the families gather for a feast, complete with music.

Sugar was brought to Mexico in the 17th century. The Mexicans, while rich in spirit, were often too poor in the pocket to be able to afford expensive European-style altar pieces with which to honor their dead, but they had sugar, and lots of it! With it, they created incredible pieces of art, sugar skulls, of many different sizes. Regionally, the skulls may differ a bit, but brightly colored royal icing, sparkles, and colored foil are all constants.

A few years ago, I used the molds for a cake-topper on a Halloween wedding cake. This year, I broke out the molds again to try a bit of decorating action. It had been a long time since I did fine icing work and here's what came back to me:
Royal icing needs to be just the right consistancy.
I like to make my own small paper cones for the icing because of the way they feel and the way my small hands can control them, but they are tough because they get loose. AND, if the icing isn't just right, it will "bump out" the cone and the tip will be too wide and your icing line will be thick and coarse.
So, for some, the disposable plastic icing bags (in small) might be a real help.
But there's something about making my own cones that takes me right back to culinary school and makes me feel like I know what I am doing!
We start by molding the sugar recipe and immediately unmolding the pieces to dry. The photo on the left has the front and back portions of our medium (Oaxacan style- the shape and jaw are the distinct characteristic) skulls. The small pieces are tiny one-piece skulls. The purple pencil gives you a size perspective.

The photo on the right shows the finished medium skull "blanks", which is what the skulls are called before decorating. On the left
is a decorated skull. There is no rhyme or reason that I know of to decorating, just let creativity reign.

And here is a photo of the finished platter, complete with spider cupcakes. So simple. Ice your favorite cupcakes with your favorite buttercream. Roll in black sprinkles (you can color your own white sprinkles with food/cake colors) or oreo cookie crumbs. Attach black licorice lace legs. Pipe on some eyes and we used chocolate covered sunflower seeds for the fangs.

Here are some more fun cookies. We made Black and White cookies but decorated them as monsters. "Franks" for reading this! You can always "Count" on AngelFood!