This is Laura's Mum's family recipe for banana cake - it is super-yummy...we never managed to let the cake cool down before eating it!

Thank you to Laura from Brazil for sharing this cheese bread recipe! It was our first attempt of cooking with tapioca flour. Having the bread in little muffin tins worked really well!

Several people suggested that we make Brigadeiro, and you were all absolutely correct, they are yummy! One 14oz can/tin of evaporated milk didn't look like much, but it made an absolute ton of Brigadeiro!

Recipe:
One 14oz tin of evaporated milk (about 400g)
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

Add all ingredients to a pan and reduce on a medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, until you can see the bottom of the pan when you drag a wooden spoon through it. Leave to cool until you can handle it, then roll into small balls between well-buttered hands and roll in chocolate sprinkles.

We are always curious to find out what and how other cultures celebrate, so when we discovered that the Latin American community here in Sheffield was running activities for the Day of the Dead, we couldn't wait to take part! 

There were loads of activities, from decorating sugar skulls to colouring, making masks, making flowers and face painting. Through it all, we learnt how the Day of the Dead is a much happier celebration than we might be used to when it comes to "death"! 

Once we got home, we continued our exploration and baked "Pan de Muerto", which, we were told, is one of the traditional foods to go hand in hand with the festivities. Here are some pictures, and the recipe we used - enjoy!

Pan de Muerto

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees
F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons white sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Heat milk and butter in a saucepan, until the butter melts. Add warm water and take off the heat. In a large bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, salt, and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Add milk and beat, then add eggs and orange zest and mix well. Add remaining flour until you have a dough you can knead. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Proof the dough in a covered bowl in a warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size. Knead again and shape into a large round loaf with a round knob on top. Use additional dough to make bone shapes and decorate around the outside of the loaf. Place dough onto a baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until just about doubled in size.Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 35 to 45 minutes. 

Glaze: Warm sugar, orange juice and zest in a saucepan. Bring to the poil and boil for two minutes. Brush over bread while it is still warm, and sprinkle with caster sugar.